JPMorgan Chase has released a report this week titled “Opportunities in the Metaverse,” which delves into virtual worlds and the boundless opportunities the bank has envisioned in them.
The multinational investment bank sees companies large and small entering the Metaverse and reports that there is currently $54 billion spent on virtual goods every year, which is almost double the amount spent on music.
The firm made a bold prediction that the Metaverse will be all-encompassing and will become a trillion-dollar market in the next few years.
“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.”
JPMorgan into the Metaverse
JPMorgan stated that a “robust and flexible financial ecosystem” is essential for Metaverse growth, which will allow users to connect between both worlds – virtual and physical.
“Our approach to payments and financial infrastructure will allow that interoperability to grow,” it added.
The report continued to state that existing gaming worlds have elements that parallel the global economy, such as population, GDP, in-game currency, and digital assets. The investment bank wants to be a part of this, stating that its core competencies in cross-border payments, foreign exchange, financial assets creation, trading, and safekeeping, can play a “major role” in the Metaverse.
The report did not specify any details on what the company has up its sleeves regarding Metaverse developments but did that it was working on new tech:
“We are building and scaling new emerging technologies to modernize infrastructure and business models including but not limited to tokenization and digital identity,”
Big Numbers From Virtual Worlds
The report highlighted some impressive stats from Metaverse projects and spending habits, along with some projections for the coming years.
The average price of a parcel of virtual land doubled in a six-month window in 2021 to $12,000, it reported. Spending on in-game advertising will top $18 billion by 2027, it predicted, while adding that there are 200 strategic partners to date with The Sandbox, such as Warner Music Group.
JPMorgan, which has also been bullish on Bitcoin, has its own lounge in the Metaverse called “The Onyx,” which is its blockchain-powered platform for wholesale payments transactions. It may extend this to include virtual offices, which would reduce overheads and increase exposure for the company.