HSBC purchase virtual real estate in The Sandbox

Hong Kong-based bank HSBC announced on Wednesday that it would enter the metaverse through a partnership with The Sandbox. The bank will acquire a plot of digital land in the metaverse, which will be developed to engage with sports, e-sports, and gaming fans. 

Suresh Balaji, chief marketing officer at HSBC Asia-Pacific, said in a statement that the bank sees “great potential” in creating new experiences through emerging platforms. He also stated that the partnership will allow the bank to create innovative brand experiences for new and existing customers. 

With this partnership, HSBC became the first global financial services provider to enter The Sandbox, following in the steps of JPMorgan, the US-based banking giant that recently opened a lounge in another metaverse, Decentraland.

HSBC is joining the ranks of over 200 brands and companies that have partnered with The Sandbox, including Gucci, Warner Music Group, Adidas, and Ubisoft. This partnership could be important for The Sandbox’s increased integration with the global financial services. With almost 3 trillion USD in assets at the end of 2021, HSBC is the largest banking and financial services organization globally.

It’s reported that after HSBC announced that it would be partnering with The Sandbox, the platform’s native token, SAND, jumped over 11% on Wednesday to 3.01 USD. As of Wednesday afternoon, the token was priced at about 2.96 USD, still up 9%.

Sebastian Borget, The Sandbox’s chief operating officer and co-founder, stated that they’re pleased to see large institutions like HSBC join the open metaverse and embrace the Web3 culture. 

SOURCE: CoinDesk