The Sandbox, a French blockchain metaverse pioneer, has announced a drastic restructuring to address the sector’s declining relevance.
According to Bravenewcoin, the company has laid off more than half of its global team, surpassing 250 cuts, and removed its founders Sébastien Borget and Arthur Madrid from operational roles.
Control is now directly in the hands of Animoca Brands, the project’s main shareholder. Robby Yung, the company’s CEO, takes over at a critical time for Sandbox, whose valuation has plummeted from $4 billion in 2022 to $1 billion in 2024.
Several offices were closed in Argentina, Uruguay, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, and France. The reduction follows the decline of the SAND token, whose market capitalization plummeted from $8 billion to around $700 million, a drop of nearly 95%.
The Sandbox is considering moving away from the 3D metaverse to launch a memecoin platform, capitalizing on the explosive popularity of these tokens, whose trading volume grew 400% in 2024.
The focus is on the Base blockchain, known for its low fees and fast execution, as well as Coinbase support, to attract creators interested in launching tokens at reduced costs, in line with platforms like Pump.fun, which became popular on Solana.
Animoca relies on the strength of the Sandbox brand, which already boasts over 6.3 million registered accounts. However, this necessary shift carries the risk that the community may interpret the change as a departure from the project’s original identity.
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