Citi Bank puts $13trillion valuation on the metaverse

Investment bank Citi has tipped the metaverse to be worth as much as $13trillion by 2030.

It believes as many as five billion people are set to interact with virtual worlds.

Citi said in a new report released on Thursday: “We believe the metaverse is the next generation of the internet—combining the physical and digital world in a persistent and immersive manner—and not purely a Virtual Reality world.”

However, it warned serious investment would be needed in infrastructure before the metaverse can reach its full potential, including on better network provision and consumer hardware.

Th $13trillion valuation on the metaverse by the end of the decade is considerably higher then the value given by Goldman Sachs in January.

The company said at the start of the year than it believed digital worlds could be worth $8trillion by 2030.

Shiba Inu unveils more details about metaverse plans

The creators of the alt coin Shiba Inu released more information about their plans for a metaverse.

Set to be titled “SHIB: The Metaverse”, the team behind the project said there would be more than 100,000 plots of land in the digital world.

In an unexpected development, they also announced the metaverse is set to run separately to cryptocurrency in order to ensure there is no risk of the virtual world having a detrimental impact on the coin.

Read more HERE

Snoop Dogg announces concert in The Sandbox

Music artist Snoop Dogg announced he is planning to hold a concert in The Sandbox as he released a metaverse-based music video.

This week he released the official music video for his song “House I Built”.

It appears to include several recognisable buildings from the virtual platform.

The song itself also makes several metaverse references, including lyrics such as “So, uh, how much is my Sandbox worth right now? Your sand, your sand token?” and “Walkin’ through The Sandbox with flip-flops on”.

The performer is not new to Web 3.0 and bought land in The Sandbox last year, naming the area as “The Snoopverse”.

Exact dates and details for his metaverse concert are yet to be announced.

Sign up to get our weekly and monthly metaverse news round-ups direct to your inbox

Dubai hosts world economic summit in the metaverse

The government of Dubai hosted one of the biggest economic summits of the year right inside the metaverse.

More than 4,000 people gathered to take part in 110 sessions for Investopia.

It included workshops on areas such as environmental sustainability and improving female participation.

The UAE’s economy minister, Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, said :“Investopia’s vision is about the future economies, so launching the Summit in the metaverse comes in line with this context, which enriches the Investopia’s discussions about the technological developments in the world and their impact on economies and investments.”

Read more HERE

Wendy’s restaurant chain launches the “Wendyverse”

US restaurant chain Wendy’s became the latest high profile brand top join the metaverse.

Known as “Wendyverse”, the company has unveiled a virtual reality restaurant located in Meta’s Horizon Worlds platform.

“For years we’ve been meeting our fans in unexpected ways and places with our unique approach to social media, gaming and engagement,” Carl Loredo, chief marketer for Wendy’s said.

“We’re excited to take this to the next level by launching the Wendyverse in Meta’s Horizon Worlds and bringing a totally new dimension of access to our fans.

“Truly a first of its kind, the Wendyverse bridges the best of today with tomorrow to show up for our fans across every world – with a Frosty and fries in hand.”

Mark Zuckerberg announces new hub to build the metaverse

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, the parent company of Facebook, announced it was opening a new engineering hub in Canada based in Toronto.

It is expected to create up to 2,500 jobs in the coming years and will play a major role in developing the social media entrepreneur’s vision for a metaverse.

The company said: “Unlocking the full potential of the metaverse will require multiple major technological breakthroughs and collaboration by researchers, industry partners, policy experts, creators and others all over the world.

“Having Canadian voices and values represented early on will be vital to creating inclusive digital spaces that we can all enjoy together.

“As we embark on this journey of innovation together, thousands of Canadians will find opportunity in helping build for the metaverse — both at Meta and alongside us as creators.”

Follow 24/7 Crypto on Twitter for the latest news and developments as they happen