Metaverse Report. An overview of the current status and developments for the financial industry

Although the idea of a comprehensive digital representation of the real world, in which people are portrayed by avatars, has existed for decades, a so-called "metaverse" has so far remained fiction. However, recent developments, driven in particular by BigTech and DLT companies as well as the gaming industry, have brought the concept back into the media spotlight, with concrete visions of what it could look like and how it could impact people's everyday lives. The first related applications, which can be understood as isolated virtual worlds, already exist and are open to users. Due to the immense potential attributed to the metaverse in various publications, companies from other industries have increasingly turned to this trend in order to explore possible opportunities and risks for their existing business model. This also applies to the financial sector, which plays a fundamental role in the proper functioning of the economy in the traditional world, a role it might also take on in the metaverse. This is especially because the real world remains the anchor point for the metaverse in terms of economic laws, implying that many of the products and services offered in traditional finance could also find use in the virtual world. For companies, doing business in the metaverse may not be so different from doing business in a new geographic market with its own rules. This study is intended to provide the financial sector with a structured introduction to the topic of the metaverse and its developments.