US banking giant JP Morgan has opened an office in Decentraland, following the bank’s entrance into the metaverse with the launch of a virtual lounge, the price of the virtual reality game’s native token (MANA) has seen an increase of about 10%.
Users may buy land and develop things from scratch in Decentraland, a virtual world driven by blockchain technology. They can even develop rooms, buildings, and even entire towns using it.
JP Morgan made an attempt to achieve just that. The bank opened its Onyx club in the game’s Metajuku neighbourhood, a simulated recreation of Tokyo’s Harajuku shopping area.
The lounge fits nicely into the virtual world inhabited by crypto enthusiasts. The first floor is home to a tiger and floating NFTs. It also includes a portrait of Jamie Dimon, the bank’s CEO. Residents of Decentraland can listen to specialists discuss crypto investments on the second floor.
JP Morgan sees a future for the Metaverse
Despite including some meme components in its lounge, the United States’ largest bank is serious about the Metaverse. The Onyx lounge opened at the same time as the bank released an assessment on its potential, which was bullish.
“In the future years, the metaverse will most likely permeate every sector in some fashion, with a business opportunity estimated at over $1 trillion in annual profits.”
Consumers worldwide currently spend $54 billion on virtual goods each year, according to the bank. This is expected to increase in the future.
Decentraland and the metaverse
Decentraland, although not being VR-ready, is one of the games that aim to profit on the metaverse trend by using blockchain. Blockchain technology may be critical for metaverse development, particularly in Decentraland, where NFTs representing land and assets, as well as the local MANA coin, are used.
Users can utilize utility money like MANA to purchase land, virtual items, and services in-game. As a result, the price is determined by the popularity of the game. That’s why the announcement that JP Morgan had joined the game boosted Decentraland’s token by roughly 10%.
Nonetheless, the JP Morgan statement was viewed by crypto markets as a vote of confidence for Decentraland rather than the Metaverse area in general.