Citi predicts that the total market for the metaverse economy could grow to between $8 trillion and $13 trillion by 2030. In addition, the global bank expects the number of Metaverse users to reach five billion.
Metaverse Potentially $8 Trillion to $13 Trillion Opportunity, Says Citi
Citi released a new Global Perspectives and Solutions (Citi GPS) report on Thursday, titled “Metaverse and Money: Decrypting the Future.” The leading global bank has approximately 200 million customer accounts and operates in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions.
The 184-page report explores various aspects of the metaverse in depth. They include what a metaverse is; its infrastructure; digital assets, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the metaverse; Money and DeFi (decentralized finance) in the metaverse; And regulatory developments apply to the metaverse.
Regarding the size of the Metaverse economy, Citi described: “We believe the Metaverse could be the next generation of the Internet – connecting the physical and digital worlds in a consistent and immersive way – and the virtual reality world as a whole. No.”
Noting that “a device-agnostic metaverse accessible via PC, game console and smartphone could result in a much larger ecosystem,” Citi wrote:
We estimate that the total addressable market for the metaverse economy could grow to between $8 trillion and $13 trillion by 2030.
Furthermore, reports suggest that Citi believes the total number of Metaverse users could be around five billion.
Report co-author Ronit Ghosh, global head of banking, fintech and digital assets, Citi Global Insights explained:
Expert contributors to the report indicate a range of users of up to 5 billion, depending on whether we take a broad definition (mobile phone user base) or just a narrow definition (VR/AR device users) of one billion basis) – we adopt ex.
The report also discusses how users will access the Metaverse. “Consumer hardware manufacturers will be the portal to the metaverse and potential gatekeepers,” the authors wrote. “As of today, there is likely to be a divide between a US/international and a China/firewall-based metaverse, with the addition of spectrum based on technology and business model, that is, decentralized versus decentralized.”
Furthermore, the report noted that “future metaverses will include more digitally native tokens, but also traditional forms of money,” adding:
Money in the metaverse can exist in different forms, i.e. in-game tokens, stablecoins, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and cryptocurrencies.
“In addition, digital assets and NFTs will enable sovereign ownership for users/owners in the metaverse and are tradable, composable, immutable and mostly interoperable,” notes the Citi report.
The authors also explored what Metaverse regulation would look like, predicting that “if the Metaverse is the new iteration of the Internet, it will attract great scrutiny from global regulators and policymakers.”
He additionally warned, “All of the challenges of the Web 2 Internet can be magnified in the metaverse, such as content moderation, free speech and privacy,” elaborating:
In addition, a blockchain-based metaverse would brush up against the still-evolving laws around cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance (DeFi) in several jurisdictions around the world.
In January, global investment bank Goldman Sachs said the metaverse could be as much as an $8 trillion opportunity. Another major investment bank, Morgan Stanley, predicted a similar size for the Metaverse in November last year. Meanwhile, Bank of America said that the metaverse is a huge opportunity for the entire crypto ecosystem.
Do you agree with Citi about the Metaverse? Let us know in the comments section below.
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