Collaborating with The SandBox, DBS Bank Explores Metaverse
9/22/2022
Southeast Asia's largest bank, DBS , on Friday announced a partnership with The Sandbox, a virtual world where players can build, own and monetize their gaming experiences on the Ethereum blockchain.
The goal of this partnership is to create DBS Better World, an interactive metaverse experience that demonstrates the importance of building a better, more sustainable world and inviting others to join in.
"This partnership makes DBS the first Singaporean company to enter into a partnership with The Sandbox and the first bank in Singapore to enter the metaverse," reads the company's announcement quoted from Bitcoin.com, Monday (12/9/2022).
Under this partnership, DBS will acquire a 3×3 unit of virtual real estate in the metaverse The Sandbox which will be developed with immersive elements.
DBS Hong Kong CEO Sebastian Paredes said the metaverse presents an exciting opportunity to redefine how we live, work and engage with one another.
"We've got our feet wet in this space, and our own young technologists have been given the freedom to develop experimental concepts in the metaverse," says Sebastian.
Metaverse technology, while still evolving, can also fundamentally change the way banks interact with customers and communities.
DBS Crypto Adoption
DBS Crypto Adoption
DBS said last month the volume of crypto trading on its digital asset exchange had soared.
“Investors who believe in the long-term prospects of digital assets are leaning towards trusted and regulated platforms for accessing the digital asset market,” the bank explains.
Prospect Metaverse
Other banks and investment companies are starting to explore the metaverse including Standard Chartered Bank, JPMorgan, and Fidelity Investments.
In August, Bank of England analysts said crypto assets could have an important role in the metaverse. Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs said the metaverse could be an $8 trillion opportunity.
Meanwhile, the company, McKinsey & Company estimates the metaverse will generate USD 5 trillion by 2030. Meanwhile, Citibank has estimated the metaverse economy could grow between USD 8 trillion to USD 13 trillion by 2030.
Meta Will Open 10 Virtual Campuses on Metaverse
Previously, Meta, a social media company focused on the metaverse, helped universities get their own virtual reality campus online.
Meta will open 10 virtual campuses as part of the Immersive Learning project, which seeks to bring education into virtual reality environments.
In partnership with Victoryxr, an Iowa-based virtual reality education startup, Meta will invest USD 150 million in this initiative.
From various universities, one of them is the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), which is an online university. More than 45,000 university students can now meet in the online metaverse to come together and share their experiences.
Head of the information technology department at UMGC, Daniel Mintz said that he had never had a campus before, and now had his first virtual campus.
As part of this plan, the university will offer five courses on its upcoming metaverse campus at no additional cost when compared to non-immersive programs.
Other institutions will also be part of the project: University of Kansas School of Nursing, New Mexico State University, South Dakota State University, Florida A&M University, West Virginia University, Southwestern Oregon Community College, California State University, Dominguez Hills, and Alabama University. A&M.
Meta Engagement
Meta donates its Meta Quest headsets to these organizations so students can be included in courses. One of the goals of the Immersive Learning Meta project is to increase student access to this technology by partnering with organizations and universities.
Part of the USD 150 million investment that Meta made serves to deliver the headset in partnership with Victoryxr, the company that designs the metaverse campus.
Meta has also helped universities pay for the design and construction of these spaces, which can cost $50,000 for a campus of five to seven buildings.
Victoryxr founder Steve Grubbs says education is an interesting use case for the metaverse.
“Meta Immersive Learning will help content creators around the world acquire skills to metaverse and create immersive experiences for students,” said Grubbs, quoted from Bitcoin.com, Thursday (8/9/2022).
Meta's pivot to virtual reality has seen the company suffer substantial losses, as its metaverse division, the Reality Labs unit, reported a loss of USD 2.8 billion in Q2 2022.
The company also made its first bond issue in August, selling off $10 billion worth of debt to invest in metaverse products and other initiatives.
