Animoca Brands Corporation Ltd has welcomed one of the world's largest international banking and financial services providers into The Sandbox, an Animoca subsidiary.
HSBC will enter the decentralised gaming virtual world to create a host of opportunities for virtual communities across the world to engage with global financial services providers and sports communities in The Sandbox metaverse.
It joins more than 200 existing partnerships including Gucci, Warner Music Group, Ubisoft, The Walking Dead, Snoop Dogg, Adidas, Deadmau5, Steve Aoki, Richie Hawtin, The Smurfs, Care Bears, Atari, ZEPETO and CryptoKitties
HSBC will acquire a plot of LAND: virtual real estate in The Sandbox metaverse and develop it to engage and connect with sports, esports and gaming enthusiasts.
The financial giant’s involvement is expected to open the door for other global institutions to continue innovating in Web3 as consumer adoption demands more robust experiences in the metaverse through decentralised and gamified offerings.
According to PwC, the global metaverse market is estimated to grow from $45.4 billion in 2019 to a staggering $1.5 trillion in 2030.
Next generation of the internet
"The metaverse is how people will experience Web3, the next generation of the Internet – using immersive technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality and extended reality," HSBC chief marketing officer, Asia-Pacific, Suresh Balaji said.
"At HSBC, we see great potential to create new experiences through emerging platforms, opening up a world of opportunity for our current and future customers and for the communities we serve.
“Through our partnership with The Sandbox we are making our foray into the metaverse, allowing us to create innovative brand experiences for new and existing customers. We're excited to be working with our sports partners, brand ambassadors and Animoca Brands to co-create experiences that are educational, inclusive and accessible."
The Sandbox has been labelled the metaverse's leading decentralised gaming virtual world and embraces the idea of the metaverse as a continuous shared digital space where worlds and brands collide to create real utility and economy.
The Sandbox COO and co-founder Sebastien Borget said: "We're pleased to see large, trusted institutions such as HSBC join The Sandbox open metaverse and embrace the culture of Web3, connecting with users through entertainment, gaming and user-generated content.
"We believe this is the beginning of a broader adoption of Web3 and the metaverse by institutions driving brand experiences and engagement within this new ecosystem."
About HSBC
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) is the founding member of the HSBC Group. HSBC serves customers worldwide from offices in 64 countries and territories in its geographical regions: Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America and the Middle East and North Africa.
With assets of US$2,958 billion at December 31, 2021, HSBC is one of the largest banking and financial services organisations in the world.