JPMorgan Becomes First Bank to Enter the Metaverse
JP Morgan Chase & Co, which is the largest bank in the United States (US) has become the first bank in the world to enter Metaverse on Wall Street. Metaverse is an immersive network of 3D virtual world-transforming workplaces and online interactions. JP Morgan has started a lounge named ‘Onyx’ on the blockchain-based metaverse platform Decentraland.
The visitors of the lounge will be greeted by a virtual tiger roaming around and the digital portrait of JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon. The CEO’s digital portrait accompanies details of opportunities for virtual opportunities. The bank has released a whitepaper in order to explore and present the possibilities of metaverse for brands and consumers.
“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,” said the report which is co-authored by Christine Moy, Global Head of Liink, Crypto and Metaverse, and Adit Gadgil, Head of E-commerce and Technology, Media and Telecommunications.
“Whether it’s large tech players such as Microsoft planning to create realistic workspaces, or Ariana Grande holding a concert in Fortnite, the opportunities presented by interactive, digital worlds seem limitless. The metaverse will likely infiltrate every sector in some way in the coming years, with the market opportunity estimated at over $1 trillion in yearly revenues,” said the report.
The report furthermore states that several new technologies have come together to enable this vision of the metaverse. Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) headsets have become cheaper and more powerful, which are improving the user experience. It also mentions that blockchain has enabled digital currencies and NFTs. “The new methods to transact and own digital goods are allowing creators to monetize their activities through tokens,” the report stated.
What is Metaverse? – Going by the literal meaning, ‘Meta’ means is a Greek prefix term that means ‘Beyond’ and ‘Verse’ is referred to as ‘Universe’. The report explains ‘Metaverse’ as a ‘seamless convergence of physical and digital lives’ that creates a unified virtual community where people may work, play, relax, transact and socialize. Elaborating that due to the continuous emerging nature, it further adds that there is no ‘singular, all-encompassing definition’ of metaverse that people can look up to.
The most important aspect is, that just like people are supposed to wear special glasses to have the experience of 3D movies in cinema halls, the people entering metaverse are supposed to wear Virtual Reality (VR) gear or Augmented Reality (AR) gear. The phenomenon of Metaverse is not a new thing. That has existed around, for quite a while now in the form of games like Second life, Fortnite, Roblox.
The report by JP Morgan also explained that there are multiple virtual worlds that are taking shape in order to enable people to grow and extend social interactions through digital means.