Cryptocurrency financial institution Sygnum plans to open a “metaverse hub” in Decentraland, a Web3 virtual world built on the Ethereum blockchain.
In a Thursday (Sept. 1) press release announcing the move, the Swiss bank and digital asset specialist included stills and a video tour of the new Decentraland location, which features a CryptoPunk receptionist, interactive NFT gallery and event space.
Sygnum’s Decentraland hub will be launched with a livestream event on Sept. 27 at 11 a.m. CET, with entrance open to the public — or at least their Decentraland avatars.
As PYMNTS has reported recently, metaverse banking is a rising trend in the financial services sector.
Read more: EU, MENA FIs Embrace, Bank on the Metaverse
Among the first financial institutions to enter the space, JPMorgan opened its own Decentraland location earlier this year, and was soon followed by digital bank Quontic and Imagin, the mobile-first subsidiary of Spanish lender Caixabank.
Away from Decentraland, other metaverse platforms are also attracting the attention of the world’s banks, with HSBC opting to set up shop in the Sandbox, for example.
At the same time as launching its Decentraland hub, JPMorgan published a report in which it stated that “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.”
Sygnum is also interested in the opportunities presented by the metaverse. The press release points to McKinsey research that suggests the sector could reach a value $5 trillion by 2030.
“Metaverse investment is ramping up, powered by crypto-enabled retail transactions and a new generation of users completely at home with socializing, shopping and working in virtual spaces,” Sygnum Chief Clients Officer Martin Burgherr said in the release. “Our new metaverse hub is the natural place to showcase Sygnum’s Web3 innovations and provide a trusted entry point for investors into the fast-growing Future Finance economy.”
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