JPMorgan appears interested in the Metaverse. The leading bank in the United States opened a digital lounge in Decentraland. That had MANA, the platform’s native coin, surging 10%.
Decentraland is a blockchain-powered virtual worth that allows individuals to purchase land and build various assets. Users can also use the platform to create buildings or even cities online. That is what JPMorgan tried to do. The banking giant opened the Onyx lounge in the gaming platform’s Metajuku district. Metajuku is a digital version of the Harajuku shopping center in Tokyo.
The lounge seems to fit into the digital world occupied by cryptocurrency fans. A tiger wanders the first floor and features floating non-fungible tokens. It also includes the bank’s CEO portrait. Meanwhile, Decentraland users will see professionals discussing cryptocurrency investment on the 2nd floor.
JPMorgan Bets Big On Metaverse
Despite including meme facets in the lounge, the US leading bank takes the Metaverse seriously. Opening Onyx lounge comes as the bank revealed potentials and bullish forecast on Metaverse. It believes the technology will infiltrate each sector in the upcoming years, estimating the market opportunity at more than 41 trillion as far as yearly revenues are concerned.
The bank stated that global consumers spend more than $54 billion on digital goods per year. The banks believe the trend will likely grow in the future.
Decentraland vs. Sandbox
Decentraland is among the gains targeting to explore the metaverse craze as it utilizes blockchain technology though not yet VR-enabled. Decentraland platform includes NFTs to represent assets and land. The network uses MANA as its native token.
Utility tokens such as MANA allow individuals purchase land, in-game services, and virtual goods. That means the token’s price relies on the gaming platform’s popularity. That is why MANA gained after the JP Morgan positive news emerged.
Nevertheless, enthusiasts can access other metaverse games other than Decentraland. The project saw competition from Sandbox, a cryptocurrency game. Still, the crypto market saw JPMorgan’s news as a catalyst to Decentraland and not the entire Metaverse marketplace. For instance, Sandbox’s native token SAND only gained $0.5% following the announcement.