JPMorgan Releases Full White Paper On Metaverse

Banking titan JPMorgan has written a full report on the metaverse, outlining what they see as exciting opportunities for consumers, brands, and individuals.

Titled “Opportunities in the metaverse: How businesses can explore the metaverse and navigate the hype vs. reality”, JPM analysts say the metaverse is the driving force behind the forming of a new digital age.

Referencing Microsoft’s plan to create digital workspaces and Ariana Grande holding a concert in Fortnite, the bank says that the “opportunities presented by interactive, digital worlds seem limited.”

“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.”

JPM says that instead of having stores in every city, major retail brands might instead build a global hub in the metaverse that is able to serve millions of customers from one location. The metaverse can also turbocharge a shift in “gaming, sports betting and gambling from cash to crypto,” the bank said.

One of the “key imperatives” for growth in the metaverse, according to JPM, is a definition of standards for digital assets such as wearables, objects and brands, and virtual currencies which can be transferable across different virtual worlds.

“(with potentially different manifestations in each world, e.g., the same NFT manifests as a special edition t-shirt in a virtual world but is a uniquely designed vehicle in a race car video game)”

JPM has officially become the first major bank to open up shop in the metaverse with its virtual Onyx Lounge in Decentraland, which it reveals for the first time in the report.

The lounge, named after JPM’s blockchain system, is situated within the Metajuku shopping mall in Decentraland, and so far features a portrait of CEO Jamie Dimon, a Tiger walking around, and a presentation on cryptocurrency.

“In the metaverse, some of the existing services and business models we are familiar with will continue to exist, but the metaverse opens a whole new realm of ways to engage which we expect will lead to uniquely new services and business models. Not everything in the metaverse will be relevant for every business. However, there is little downside to taking the opportunity to explore.”