JPMorgan Becomes First Significant Bank in The Metaverse

JPMorgan has become Metaverse’s first significant bank. The largest bank in the United States has taken a giant step into the Metaverse. It opened a virtual lounge in the popular blockchain-based world Decentraland after identifying the sector as a $1 trillion opportunity.

Visitors to the lounge, located in Decentraland’s Metajuku mall, are greeted by a roaring tiger and a digital portrait of JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon. Furthermore, if players proceed upstairs, they will be able to view an executive’s presentation on the economics of cryptocurrency. The “onyx lounge,” is eponymous to JPMorgan’s in-house blockchain payments system. It became public alongside a report from the bank outlining the types of business opportunities available in the Metaverse.

Massive Brand Interest in Metaverse

According to the report, the Metaverse will likely infiltrate every sector in some way in the coming years. Hence, the market opportunity should be over $1 trillion in yearly revenues; $54 billion should go on virtual goods each year; twice the amount spent on music.

The average price of virtual land doubled from $6,000 to $12,000 between June and December of last year. Moreover, in-game advertising spending expects to reach $18.4 billion per year by 2027.

JPMorgan has identified an influx of individual creators using Web3. It is using it to monetize its work in novel ways as a driving force behind the new economy built in the Metaverse. JPMorgan notes that massive brand interest in the Metaverse is also driving increased mainstream adoption, citing Adidas and Nike’s moves to create NFT-based products and shopfronts.

In a section titled “Navigating hype vs. reality,” the report stated, “Despite much excitement about the possibilities of the Metaverse, key areas need to develop further and mature to enable its full potential for engagement, community building, self-expression, and commerce.”