News that one of the world’s biggest and oldest financial institutions, JP Morgan Chase, is setting up shop in the metaverse was released earlier this week.
According to a report published by the bank’s blockchain research division Onyx, the new virtual office is located in Metajuku mall in the popular Ethereum-based metaverse Decentraland. It was purchased for over $900,000 in Ethereum.
Decentraland allows users to buy and monetize digital parcels of land in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and it has enjoyed a meteoric rise in popularity in recent years and months.
JP Morgan also found that the metaverse – a broad term for worlds like Decentraland and The Sandbox, which are worlds built on augmented and virtual reality – could become a market that generates $1 trillion of revenue each year.
Most companies and brands tend to sell their products in digital worlds, sometimes re-inventing them for the metaverse and Web 3.0. The bank could host events and provide banking services like mortgages for virtual land purchases and other rental and credit services that they provide in the real world in their Decentraland branch.
It may come as no surprise that JP Morgan is investing in the metaverse ahead of their peers. Last year the financial company reversed its stance on cryptocurrency and started giving clients the option of investing in crypto and crypto-related products. Crypto, NFTs, and blockchain technology play fundamental roles in shaping metaverses.
JP Morgan Not the Only One’s Making Moves in the Metaverse
News of JP Morgan buying land and opening a digital bank in Decentraland would be huge if it weren’t for the avalanche of major brands and companies investing in NFTs and the metaverse lately.
Disney, Walmart, Nike, Adidas, Gucci, McDonald’s, and a myriad of other brands are diving into the metaverse at a quick rate. Most recently, The New York Stock Exchange filed a myriad of trademarks for Web 3.0-related business ventures.
The success of NFTs in 2021 and so far in 2022 shows people are becoming more accustomed to digital ownership and services. Besides the continued success of generative NFT projects like Bored Ape Yacht Club, NFTs have also been branching out into other areas like film, music, fashion, and real-world real estate.
Now JP Morgan Chase, the predecessor to one of the oldest financial institutions in the world, has committed to a banking presence in the metaverse. We wouldn’t be surprised if other financial institutions follow in their footsteps.