JPMorgan Chase has become the first U.S. bank to jump into the metaverse. The country’s largest bank announced that it has officially opened an outlet lounge inside the virtual world of Decentraland, a virtual world online that was created based on blockchain technology. Inside JPMorgan’s virtual office, Onyx Lounge, customers can avail of its Ethereum-based services. The U.S bank released a paper detailing its virtual space, adding that it sees many business opportunities in operating in the metaverse.
JPMorgan created the virtual space in response to the growing customer interest.
JPMorgan’s head of crypto and the metaverse, Christine Moy, noted they created the virtual space in response to the growing customer interest in learning more about the metaverse. She said the bank had created a white paper for clients to help learn more about the metaverse without the unnecessary “noise” related to the new technology. Moy said there is a lot of potentials to improve customers’ lives within the virtual space.
Other companies and institutions have also delved into the metaverse.
The metaverse is a virtual world that acts as a catch-all for all emerging online technologies such as virtual meetings, online commerce, immersive gaming, and digital currency. There are currently three major Web3 metaverse worlds gaining traction: Decentraland, The Sandbox, Somnium Space, and Cryptovoxels. Several companies and institutions have also entered into the metaverse by creating their own virtual spaces and outlets. In January, South Korean electronics company Samsung announced the opening of its store in Decentraland. The store was a virtual replica of its flagship store in New York. Last year, Barbados opened the first embassy inside Decentraland.
