Singapore-based banking group DBS, the largest bank by assets in Southeast Asia, has partnered with blockchain-based Metaverse gaming platform The Sandbox to develop new services for customers in three-dimensional virtual environments including digital avatars. The Sandbox, a division of Animoca Brands in Hong Kong, is a virtual world where players can build, own and monetize their gaming experiences based on the Ethereum blockchain. It’s one of the most popular of the hyped Metaverse environments that have emerged recently. The purpose of the partnership is to “create an interactive Metaverse experience that demonstrates the importance of building a better, more sustainable world and…
Singapore-based banking group DBS, the largest bank by assets in Southeast Asia, has partnered with blockchain-based Metaverse gaming platform The Sandbox to develop new services for customers in three-dimensional virtual environments including digital avatars.
The Sandbox, a division of Animoca Brands in Hong Kong, is a virtual world where players can build, own and monetize their gaming experiences based on the Ethereum blockchain. It’s one of the most popular of the hyped Metaverse environments that have emerged recently.
In a statement, DBS said the aim of the partnership was to “create an interactive metaverse experience that demonstrates the importance of building a better, more sustainable world and invites others to join in,” noting that it was Singapore’s first company to enter the Metaverse.
virtual plot
The bank noted that DBS will acquire a piece of “land” – a virtual real estate unit in The Sandbox – which will be developed with immersive elements.
DBS’ Metaverse aspirations have a lot to do with the city-state’s lively cryptocurrency scene. Cryptocurrency trading volumes on its digital asset exchange soared in August, the bank said.
“Investors who believe in the long-term prospects of digital assets are gravitating toward accessing the digital asset market through trusted and regulated platforms,” the bank said.
“Advances in digital technology have brought about the biggest changes in the financial world over the past decade. In the next decade, these shifts are likely to be even more profound, driven by new technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain,” said DBS Chief Executive Executive Piyush Gupta added in the statement.
Celebrities join the virtual world
DBS joins other prominent global banks in the Metaverse. In February of this year, American financial services group JPMorgan Chase opened a store in the Metajuku shopping mall in Decentraland, becoming the world’s first bank to invest in Metaverse. Following in the footsteps of Wall Street banks, HSBC launched the Metaverse Portfolio for its high-value clients in Singapore and Hong Kong in early April.
At the end of April, Standard Chartered also announced a partnership with The Sandbox for its Metaverse project.
In Southeast Asia, Siam Commercial Bank, the largest bank in Thailand, opened a branch in the sandbox earlier this year.
