For rich clients in Singapore and Hong Kong, HSBC Holdings has developed a fund focusing on metaverse investing prospects.
According to a statement reviewed by Bloomberg, the Metaverse Discretionary Strategy portfolio would focus on five important areas of the metaverse: infrastructure, computing, virtualization, experience and discovery, and interface. The portfolio is tailored for high-and ultra-high-net-worth professional investors as well as accredited investors. HSBC Asset Management will handle it, with the goal of “capturing the [metaverse] growth possibilities internationally over the next decade.”
PricewaterhouseCoopers, a worldwide audit, consultancy, and tax services organisation, predicted last year that the global metaverse industry would grow from $45.4 billion in 2019 to $1.5 trillion by 2030. HSBC appears to be more enthusiastic about metaverse investment than it is about cryptocurrency. It has long been wary of cryptocurrency in general. Due to worries over volatility and transparency, HSBC CEO Noel Quinn declared in May 2021 that the bank has no intention of starting a crypto trading desk or trading in cryptocurrencies on behalf of clients. His remarks came after a market sell-off triggered by Chinese government statements about “clamping down on bitcoin mining and trading activity.”
However, HSBC backed a $200 million fundraising round for blockchain technology firm ConsenSys in November of last year, indicating that it may be altering its tune. In terms of the metaverse, the bank is much more upbeat. The metaverse, according to Suresh Balaji, HSBC’s chief marketing officer for Asia-Pacific, “is how users will experience web3, the next version of the internet.”
It has also demonstrated that it is willing to put its money where its mouth is. The bank stated on March 16 that it had purchased virtual real estate from Sandbox Metaverse, a unit of venture capital firm Animoca Brands.
Will HSBC be able to please its clients by this Metaverse fund? Comment below.
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