Sygnum Bank,  with roots in Switzerland and Singapore, will open a branch on New York's virtual Times Square, welcoming visitors with a «crypto punk. According to experts, this metaverse hub is likely to be precedent-setting.

Sygnum Bank is planning to open a branch on New York's Times Square. That sounds like a rather routine order of business for a bank. This branch, however, will be in cyberspace and the location virtual, making it the first Swiss bank to operate in the Metaverse. The Decentraland hub will showcase Sygnum's Web3 product innovations, the bank said in a media report Thursday.

The Metaverse is an interactive 3D world based on open blockchain technology where users can socialize, play, work, shop, and develop new skills. Author Neal Stephenson coined the term «Metaverse» in his 1992 book «Snow Crash» which chronicles the adventures of hacker Hiro Protagonist who also happens to deliver pizza for the mafia. 

Users' avatars can learn about Sygnum in the crypto garden and see future finance's introduction of the bank in action throughout the three-story complex. Areas include a lounge with a crypto-punk receptionist, an interactive NFT gallery with curated exhibitions, and an exhibition hall for events, launches, and functions.

Landmark Buildings

Decentraland is the first and largest metaverse to enable gaming and the purchase of virtual land, goods, and services. The virtual world is among the most promising candidates for the further construction of the metaverse. The project, built on the Ethereum blockchain, already hosts numerous lands with landmark buildings and diverse backdrops.

Sygnum, with roots in Switzerland and Singapore, is convinced that the Metaverse enabled by Web3 technologies will fundamentally change the Internet.

More Banks to Follow

According to Gianluca Gerosa, the banking world needs to incorporate the metaverse into strategy development. The universe is not only significant for attracting new generations of customers, he told finews.com. It could also provide sustainable growth opportunities that the real world can no longer afford because it is limited by the availability of offline resources and the priority of climate change.

The entry point for most commercial banks, according to Gerosa, will be to integrate cryptocurrencies and, where available, Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) into their financial services offerings. Most metaverse platforms are already promoting the use of cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and other digital assets, which could soon become the main form of value exchange in the metaverse.

Digital World with Potential

As personal digital, physical, financial, and social worlds become increasingly interconnected through devices, demand for enhanced user experiences will continue to grow. According to a McKinsey study, the Metaverse has the potential to deliver these enhanced experiences and be could worth $5 trillion by 2030.

Times Square has come a long way since the gritty days of the late 1960s and 1970s when crime, drugs, and prostitution ran rampant. Few, if any banks, would have dared open a branch office in those days. The area has certainly been cleaned up since then, with the most recent makeover completed in 2016 when it was transformed from a congested crossroads to open space. Is the Metaverse the newest chapter for Times Square, and will we see Hiro Protagonist delivering pizzas there?