JPMorgan leaps into metaverse

JPMorgan Chase announced on Tuesday the opening of a lounge in the Decentraland virtual world, becoming the first bank to arrive in the metaverse. According to the Wall Street bank, the metaverse has a market opportunity of $1 trillion in yearly revenue, as creators tap Web3 to monetize their work in new ways.

The Onyx Lounge, named after JPMorgan’s in-house blockchain payments system, was unveiled alongside a report from the bank detailing metaverse-related growth opportunities for businesses and the causes of its “explosive interest.”

Visitors to the lounge, situated in Decentraland’s Metajuku Mall, are greeted by a roaming tiger and a digital portrait of the bank’s CEO, Jamie Dimon. If players walk upstairs, they can watch an executive’s presentation on the economics of cryptocurrency.

“When you think about the economics of the metaverse – or metanomics – there are opportunities in almost every market area,” the bank wrote. “We are not here to suggest the metaverse as we know it today will take over all human interactions, but rather, to explore the many exciting opportunities it presents for consumers and brands alike.”

The report points out that the average price of virtual land doubled from $6,000 to $12,000 between June and December last year. JPMorgan predicted that in-game advertising spending will reach $18.4 billion per annum by 2027.

“This democratic ownership economy, coupled with the possibility of interoperability, could unlock immense economic opportunities, whereby digital goods and services are no longer captive to a singular gaming platform or brand,” said the bank.

It also noted an increasing mainstream adoption of the metaverse, driven by interest from major brands like PWC, Walmart, Nike, Verizon, Gap, Adidas, Hulu, and Atari.

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