According to reports from Bloomberg, the global metaverse economy could reach over $800 billion by 2024. This projection is also in line with JPMorgan’s forecast – that the metaverse industry could hit a $1 trillion market cap. Why are these financial institutions so optimistic about the Metaverse?
Today, about 5 billion people have access to the internet. A great deal of these people connects to the internet for fun. They want to chat with people, get the latest news, watch movies online and play games. Due to the large number of people playing online games, blockchain developers came up with play-to-earn gaming. Afterward, the idea of owning virtual assets and real-estate properties became popular. Consequently, blockchain gaming brands like Decentraland, Axie Infinity, and Sandbox became large companies.
Play-to-earn, virtual worlds, and other forms of blockchain games require non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Accordingly, the NFT industry also became a booming business. This worldwide interest in blockchain games, the Metaverse, and NFTs didn’t go unnoticed by large institutions. Institutional investors worldwide began staking their claim in the metaverse industry and everything that relates to it.
Today, a growing number of institutions are coming into the Metaverse. Companies like Facebook, Google, Gucci, and more are already establishing themselves in this emerging market. We can only expect more fashion brands, car manufacturers, shopping outlets, and brands from other industries to join the moving train. So, let us review some new brands making their way into the metaverse industry.
Louis Vuitton
The 200-years old luxury brand began its journey in the Metaverse by launching Louis: The Game. Louis: The Game is a video game available as a mobile application. Through seven virtual worlds, players get to accompany an in-game character, Vivienne, searching for exclusive postcards. These postcards are NFTs that tell Louis Vuitton’s actual story since the company’s birth on August 4, 1821.
Recently, Louis Vuitton added two new quests and new NFT rewards minted from the company’s Ethereum wallet. Similar to the earlier postcards, players will not be buying these NFTs. Instead, players who reach a certain level in the game will have a chance to qualify for a raffle. Winners of the raffle will then receive 10 new collectibles featuring Vivienne in various looks. The raffle event will run until August 4 before selecting winners.
An action-packed adventure is a clever approach by Louis Vuitton to educate the public about its history. So far, Louis: The Game has gathered over 2 million downloads on Google Play and Apple Store.
OneFootball
OneFootball is a football media platform that delivers wide-ranging content from hundreds of football leagues. With about 100 million active users, OneFootball wants to bring its massive audience into the Metaverse. To achieve this plan, OneFootball will be rolling a new division in their company – OneFootball Labs.
OneFootball Labs is a joint venture with Animoca Brands and Liberty City Ventures. They will be providing unique fan experiences in the form of NFTs through blockchain technology. Moreover, users of this platform will be able to buy the NFTs with a credit card and store them using their email.
According to a report from OneFootball, the company will be building its own NFT marketplace to be known as Aera. Furthermore, OneFootball Labs will be partnering with Dapper Labs to build Aera on the FLOW blockchain.
Dubai
Although not really a brand, Dubai is currently one of the earliest government institutions to enter the Metaverse. As a world-leading tourism destination, the country also seeks to play a leading role in virtual reality.
The Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority of Dubai bought a piece of real estate on The Sandbox. The agency plans to set up its Metaverse Headquarters on this piece of the land. As it stands, VARA is in charge of overseeing crypto and blockchain investments across Dubai. Henceforth, investors in Dubai will also go through VARA before buying metaverse-related assets. Likewise, the new Metaverse HQ will provide Dubai’s Virtual Assets Service Providers (VASPs) licenses.
Fidelity
Fidelity Investments is a Boston-based financial and wealth management company. The brokerage firm currently has over $11.8 trillion worth of assets under its administration. The company made a decision to enter the Metaverse after launching the Fidelity Metaverse ETF. Meanwhile, this ETF depends on the stock index performance of various companies that sell products or services relating to the Metaverse.
Fidelity is the first brokerage firm to own a structure in a virtual reality game. The Fidelity Stack is an eight-story multi-level learning center built on Decentraland. Visitors to the virtual building can learn about the Metaverse and the basics of investing. Interestingly, The firm dedicated one floor of the building to its new Metaverse ETF project. Additionally, there is a suggestion box for visitors to drop their thoughts about the gamified metaverse experience.
Spotify
On May 3, 2022, Spotify announced the opening of its metaverse space on Roblox. Spotify Island is an interactive arena for everything relating to music. Artists can create soundtracks with Spotify’s beat-making station, Soundtrap, and perform in concerts. Also, users can interact with artists and have fun in virtual venues. In addition, users can gather easter eggs which helps them unlock more levels and features within the Island.
Spotify Island has seen rapid improvements within its early days. A K-pop island known as K-Park is exclusively for the K-pop music industry. Soon, Spotify plans to host K-pop artists SUNMI and Stray Kids on K-Park. Recently, Spotify rolled out a new archipelago. The group of islands features multiple destinations with a variety of music and sounds.
Spotify promises to make the Island engaging and challenging. Hence, they will be launching more quests on the Island in the future. In the meantime, players can enjoy the mixed-color theme and unique experiences Spotify Island offers.
Apart from the list in this article, JPMorgan, Starbucks, Standard Chartered, and Hyundai are some other institutions that recently made it into the Metaverse. We can only expect even more institutions and brands to find a place within the Metaverse in the nearest future.
