How are traditional Banks making use of the Metaverse?

The concept of Crypto and the Metaverse is that it is decentralized and lacks much in the form of an overseer that controls what is happening. With that, when discussing ‘Defi’ or Decentralized Finance you would not have traditional banks in the same discussion.

As the use for Crypto and Web3 has broadened, it has become clear that organizations in a multitude of industries can make use of it in their practice. Skepticism will always run rampant in a less developed industry like Web3, however it is important to keep an open mind and educate yourself. After all, many were doubtful of the original internet and now look at it.

Read on to learn more about the Metaverse and its relationship with Banks.

Which Banks have entered the Metaverse?

Whilst the Metaverse is a new concept that has growing pains, banks have not been swindled by this.

HSBC

HSBC have made their first move by acquiring LAND in The Sandbox Metaverse. They are the first worldwide bank to enter The Sandbox making their move a monumental one. With them being one of the largest financial institutions in the world, this is a positive sign for the financial sector and Web3.

The main purpose of HSBC acquiring this virtual real estate is to allow a space for sports, esports and gaming fans to come together in one collective space. This collaboration was announced back in March of 2022.

HSBC’s representatives had this to say on the matter:

“At HSBC, we see great potential to create new experiences through emerging platforms, opening up a world of opportunity for our current and future customers and the communities we serve.” – Suresh Balaji CMO for Asia

J.P Morgan Chase

J.P has set up shop in The Sandbox’s indirect competitor, Decentraland. They have taken another social approach with this opening a virtual lounge in one of the malls found within the Decentraland Metaverse.

In this lounge users can go ahead and learn more about the Metaverse through educational resources, and keep up to date with J.P’s projects going forward.

Banking concepts within the Metaverse

Players of Decentraland will be familiar with what we have coming up. The very first Metaverse ATM machine is to be released in this Web3 project.

This has been brought to us by the folks at Transak, a popular Crypto exchange. Here players can buy the native token to Decentraland, $MANA and many other cryptocurrencies available.

If you own LAND on Decentraland it is possible to earn extra money through implementing the Transak ATM. To get started with this visit the Transak website and fill out their form.

The reason behind this venture is to make the process of purchasing cryptocurrency a simple one. As stated by one of the developers who have worked on this:

“The aim is to simplify the user experience. Like an ATM in real life, we wanted to give users a more seamless journey while navigating Web3.”

Banks hold Cryptocurrency related investments

Now this may come as a surprise to many, but yes banks have started to invest and hold onto Cryptocurrencies in their funds. Depending on where you are located, this may come as a surprise considering banks such as Santander and Barclays in the United Kingdom only allow their customers to purchase from FINRA, SEC, FCA & CySEC certified exchanges.

The Commonwealth Bank which has headquarters in Australia and South Korea has gone ahead and invested in the Gemini exchange. Goldman Sachs residing out of the United States of America have also invested in Blockdaemon, an organization that creates Blockchain list transaction solutions for large scale businesses and organizations.

So far it’s clear they’re not investing in the humorous memecoins like ‘Doge’ but rather applications and brands with real world use.

Banks of Wells Fargo have hinted at opening a crypto fund for their more trusted traders. They have kept in mind that crypto markets are highly hostile meaning only certified individuals will be able to use this service. Still a great addition from them though, hopefully this spurs more banks on in the future to adapt crypto trading and investing into their services.