Investment banking firm JPMorgan Chase is betting on the metaverse, which it predicts “will likely infiltrate every sector in some way in the coming years, with the market opportunity estimated at over $1 trillion in yearly revenues.” The company has opened a virtual branch in Decentraland, a browser-based 3D world to coincide with publication of the 18-page “Opportunities in the Metaverse” report by Onyx, the blockchain division the bank launched in 2020. Although it’s the first bank known to open a branch in the metaverse, JPMorgan is just the latest of numerous businesses to plant its flag.

Retail and entertainment brands including Walmart, Nike, Disney, Vans, Adidas and Samsung have all set up shop in the metaverse. Warner Music Group is building a concert theme park in Sandbox, where Gucci has staked out space to develop “immersive experiences” and offer fashion NFT’s for Gen Z. But, as JPMorgan’s arrival indicates, the metaverse is not just for kids. In November, Barbados opened a metaverse embassy in Decentraland.

Last month, accounting firm Prager Metis opened a three-story metaverse headquarters in Decentraland. Fortune says “The company has been ‘constantly fielding inquiries from … clients trying to understand the metaverse from a financial and tax compliance perspective,’” according to Prager Metis partner Jerry Eitel.

Real estate has taken off in the metaverse. “Virtual land sales have been driven by the growth of the ‘ownership economy’ in Web3, a new iteration of the Internet that enthusiasts advocate as decentralized, equitable, and user-controlled,” Fortune writes.

The JPMorgan report indicates “the average price of a parcel of land doubled in a six-month window in 2021,” increasing from $6,000 in June to $12,000 by December across the “four main Web 3.0 metaverses” — Decentraland, Sandbox, Somnium Space and Cryptovoxels.

Fortune reports that “last June, developer Everyrealm (formerly known as Republic Realm) bought a piece of Decentraland land for $913,000. The land has now been turned into the Metajuku shopping district, where JPMorgan’s lounge is located.” And the metaverse is staffing up. Fortune reports that “the development of the metaverse economy has created jobs both online and offline. Companies, from apparel to tech firms, are on a metaverse hiring spree.”

“There is a lot of client interest to learn more about the metaverse,” Christine Moy, JPMorgan’s head of crypto and the metaverse, told CoinDesk, adding that the company put together its white paper on “metanomics” to help clients “cut through the noise and highlight what the current reality is, and what needs to be built next in technology, commercial infrastructure, privacy/identity and workforce, in order to maximize the full potential of our lives in the metaverse.”

Goldman Sachs predicts the metaverse will grow to an $8 trillion market. “Still, metaverse bulls have been hit hard this year,” Fortune notes, detailing Roblox shares down 25 on disappointing quarterly earnings and claiming “metaverse stocks have underperformed in 2022.”