The Sandbox Price

What Is The Sandbox?

The Sandbox is a virtual world where people play games built by other users and brands, and creators make 3D items and games with free tools. SAND is its token. It buys LAND parcels, avatars and items on The Sandbox marketplace and pays for some in-game access and fees.

The game began in 2012 as a mobile building game from Pixowl, a studio founded by Arthur Madrid and Sébastien Borget. Hong Kong's Animoca Brands bought Pixowl in 2018 and rebuilt The Sandbox as a blockchain world run by TSB Gaming, an Animoca subsidiary, according to the SEC's 2023 complaint against Coinbase.

The company has since pulled back. In August 2025, The Sandbox cut staff and moved its founders out of executive roles. Madrid became chairman and Borget became global ambassador, and Blockworks reported that Animoca Brands CEO Robby Yung took over as CEO. Borget said SAND, LAND and existing NFT collections were unchanged.

How The Sandbox Works

SAND is an ERC-20 token on Ethereum with a maximum supply of 3 billion, all minted in July 2019. It has no blockchain or validators of its own. SAND also runs on Polygon, where The Sandbox marketplace now settles trades to cut fees. Bridged versions on Base and BNB Chain were cut off after an August 2026 exploit, according to news reports.

The whitepaper, as quoted by the SEC, set aside 19% of SAND for the founders and team and 25.8% for a company reserve. Seed and strategic investors also received tokens, and a public sale on Binance Launchpad raised $3 million in August 2020. Those allocations unlocked in stages after the sale, and about 2.94 billion SAND, or 98% of the supply, counted as circulating on Nov. 8, 2026, according to CoinGecko's supply data.

The Sandbox keeps 2.5% of each marketplace sale, and that SAND funds the Sandbox Foundation's creator programs and rewards. SAND staking on Polygon stopped paying rewards on June 26, 2025, when the pools closed.

Holders also voted through The Sandbox DAO, launched in May 2024, where one LAND counted as 4,500 SAND of voting power. In February 2026, voters passed SIP-39, which paused the DAO, and it has been dormant since April 1, 2026.

What People Use It For

The Sandbox's main uses today:

• Playing free games and seasonal events. Season 7 opened February 25, 2026 with 32 experiences, partner content from Atari and Black Mirror, and SAND and NFT rewards through a battle pass.
• Buying LAND, avatars, wearables and equipment on The Sandbox marketplace with SAND
• Building games in Game Maker and 3D models in VoxEdit, then publishing them to LAND you own or have permission to use
• Selling creations, with the original creator earning a cut when items resell on the marketplace

You don't need SAND or LAND to play. Players need SAND only to buy items, own land or claim certain rewards.

Risks To Know

The company behind SAND is shrinking. The August 2025 layoffs, the end of SAND staking in June 2025 and the February 2026 vote to pause the DAO have each cut back on what holders can do with the token. Animoca Brands controls the company and its treasury, so SAND holders depend on its decisions.

In August 2026, an attacker abused the setup of SAND's bridge contracts on Base and BNB Chain, minted unbacked SAND there and withdrew about 14.7 million real SAND from the Ethereum bridge vault, according to news coverage of The Sandbox's statements and post-mortem by EGamers and Cointelegraph. The Sandbox published its post-mortem on X, which we couldn't access, and it isn't in The Sandbox's docs, so these figures rest on those reports. The Sandbox said Ethereum and Polygon SAND weren't affected, shut both bridges and promised 1:1 reimbursement in Ethereum SAND without minting new tokens. Our crypto hacks tracker follows incidents like this one.

The SEC named SAND as a security in its June 2023 complaints against Binance and Coinbase. It dropped the Coinbase case in February 2025 and dismissed the Binance case in May 2025, and no court ruled on SAND's status.

How To Buy The Sandbox

SAND is easy to find in the US. Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, Bitstamp, Binance.US and Crypto.com all list it. Bitstamp's US service stops taking new deposits and purchases on Feb. 1, 2027. Kraken isn't available in New York or Maine. OKX lists SAND on its global exchange, but check whether OKX's US platform offers it. International buyers can also use KuCoin, MEXC and Gate.

If you withdraw SAND to a wallet, use the Ethereum or Polygon network. SAND on Base and BNB Chain was cut off from the bridge after the August 2026 exploit, and The Sandbox's bridge guide covered only Ethereum and Polygon on Nov. 8, 2026. Our overview of what The Sandbox is explains how to play and buy LAND. The table below shows what your money actually gets you at each exchange.

The Sandbox And Your Taxes

In the US, selling, swapping or spending SAND, including buying LAND or items with it, creates a capital gain or loss. SAND earned from staking before the pools closed counts as ordinary income when received under IRS Revenue Ruling 2023-14, and SAND won in seasons or contests is also income. Read more on how crypto and NFTs are taxed and on taxes for play-to-earn games. No US spot SAND ETF exists, so SAND can't go in a standard brokerage IRA.

FAQ

Is The Sandbox A Good Investment?

That depends on your goals and risk tolerance. The Sandbox has big-brand partners, a fixed 3 billion supply that is almost fully unlocked and listings on every major US exchange. Against that, the company has cut staff, ended staking and paused its DAO, a bridge exploit hit SAND in August 2026, and the token trades far below its 2021 peak. Size any position to what you can afford to lose.

What Is The Max Supply Of SAND?

SAND's maximum supply is 3 billion tokens, all minted on Ethereum in July 2019. Team, investor and reserve allocations unlocked in stages after the 2020 sale, and about 98% of the supply now circulates. The August 2026 bridge exploit created unbacked SAND on Base and BNB Chain, but The Sandbox says the Ethereum supply stayed at 3 billion and those bridges were shut.

Who Owns The Sandbox?

Animoca Brands, a Hong Kong gaming and blockchain company, owns The Sandbox through its subsidiary TSB Gaming. Animoca bought the original developer, Pixowl, in 2018. Co-founders Arthur Madrid and Sébastien Borget left their executive roles in an August 2025 restructuring, with Madrid becoming chairman and Borget global ambassador.

Did The SEC Call SAND A Security?

Yes, in court filings. The SEC's June 2023 lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase both listed SAND as a crypto asset security. The SEC dismissed the Coinbase case in February 2025 and the Binance case, with prejudice, in May 2025. No court ever ruled on whether SAND is a security.

Can I Buy SAND In An IRA?

No US spot SAND ETF exists, and Grayscale doesn't offer a SAND trust, so SAND isn't available through a regular brokerage IRA. Self-directed crypto IRA providers each publish their own list of supported coins, so check whether SAND is on it. See our list of crypto IRA providers to compare options and fees.

Where Can I Buy SAND In The US?

Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, Bitstamp, Binance.US and Crypto.com list SAND for US customers. Kraken doesn't serve New York or Maine. Fees and spreads vary, so compare the full cost in the table above. Our ranking of the best crypto exchanges covers each platform's fees and safety record.