Dave Birch from 15MB and Paul Clarke from Lateralleap considered the concept of the metaverse and the financial sector’s role in its success at Sibos’s Innovation Tribe stage on 11 October 2022.

“The metaverse has an important role in solving complex problems,” said Clarke when introducing the concept to the audience. “It’s about creating digital worlds for a purpose rather than replicating our existing world.”

Clarke and Birch established the goal of the metaverse as developing a hyperreality rather than simulating the real world, where business agreements and transactions can be made cost effectively. As such, the two agreed that the financial sector must develop new ways to process money both in and out of the virtual world, as well as between that and reality, with tokenisation as an example.

In addition, Birch considered the challenge of digital identity, asking if the role of banks is fundamental to providing a stable infrastructure for the metaverse. Clarke responded, highlighting that banks are a source of fundamental truth, but “entirely new financial services will be possible within the metaverse, too”.  

The financial industry is currently considering how to implement new strategies and technologies within the metaverse.

“The tide is coming in and fast,” said Clarke. “Imagine that tide is a tsunami; that’s where we’re at with the metaverse. The concept is on a non-linear, exponential journey where we can’t even predict the first round of outcomes.”
 

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