Standard Chartered Bank has become the latest major bank to enter the metaverse. The bank has acquired “virtual land in the Mega City district of The Sandbox metaverse, a cultural hub based on or inspired by Hong Kong talents.”
Standard Chartered Bank forays into the metaverse
Standard Chartered Bank announced Tuesday that its subsidiary, Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Ltd. (SCBHK) (SCBHK), has partnered with The Sandbox, a popular blockchain virtual gaming platform, “to create a metaverse experience.”
We’re setting up in the #Metaverse!
Thrilled to announce that we’ve expanded our footprint to the metaverse through our acquisition of virtual land at @TheSandboxGame's Mega City district. https://t.co/g9KaUhRY0M pic.twitter.com/dqLnF8cg5y— SC Ventures by Standard Chartered (@scventuresDNA) April 25, 2022
Standard Chartered is a leading global bank with 85,000 employees serving clients in nearly 150 markets around the world. It has 776 branches worldwide.
The bank explained that it is the first bank to acquire “virtual land in the Mega City district of The Sandbox metaverse, a cultural hub based on or inspired by Hong Kong talents.” The initiative is led by SC Ventures, the innovation, fintech investment and venture arm of Standard Chartered Group.
The announcement details:
SCBHK will actively engage its customers, partners, staff and the technology community to explore co-creation opportunities in this exciting new space.
The bank aims to experiment and create new experiences for clients, as well as bring “local sports and arts communities into the metaverse,” the announcement adds.
Alex Manson, head of SC Ventures at Standard Chartered, commented:
Over the past few years, we have been building business models in cryptocurrencies and digital assets and see the rise of the metaverse as a critical milestone in the evolution of Web3.0.
Other major banks and financial services firms that have entered the metaverse include JPMorgan, HSBC and Fidelity Investments. HSBC also partnered with The Sandbox to enter the metaverse, while JPMorgan and Fidelity chose Decentraland.
The metaverse is expected to grow significantly. Last month, Citi predicted that the metaverse could be a $13 trillion opportunity with 5 billion users by 2030. Global investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley believe the metaverse could be an $8 trillion opportunity.
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