Daily TribuneUnionBank aims to ‘support the growth of the Filipino Web3 community and artists through activities in the metaverse.’ The move ‘indicates banks and other prominent financial institutions are recognizing the maturing digital asset market and the growing interest in the decentralized economy from institutional investors and customers.’
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF UNSPLASH/julien tromeur
EMERGING online trend in metaverse opens opportunities.<br />| PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF UNSPLASH/rodion kutsaiev
The UnionBank of the Philippines is venturing into a new era. One that binds one's contact and activities into a single virtual reality world.
Only recently, UBP partnered with Hex Trust to enter the metaverse, catapulting the bank into the forefront of the domestic banking space and demonstrating its commitment to empowering the ongoing Web3 transition.
"The metaverse can create many opportunities for Filipinos to connect with the global community. However, these are also very valuable assets that need institutional-grade security and custody, for which we have partnered with Hex Trust, acting as an independent licensed digital asset custodian. Aside from giving our customers new and engaging experiences, we want to ensure that their interaction with the metaverse and non-tangible tokens (NFTs) are safe with us. This is another way of 'Tech-ing' up Pilipinas," Henry Aguda, UnionBank of the Philippines senior executive vice president, chief technology and operations officer, and chief transformation officer said.
Calvin Shen, Managing Director, Hex Trust, commented, "As more banks and financial institutions such as UnionBank start entering the metaverse, the digital asset market will continue its growth and provide an increasing variety of use cases. However, entering such a nascent market comes with its fair share of challenges, ranging from regulatory uncertainty to security concerns. Hex Trust has long been a trusted infrastructure provider for banks and other financial institutions to safely and seamlessly integrate digital assets into their operations."
UBP's expansion of its "long standing" partnership with Hex Trust is a validation of its "Tech-up Pilipinas" advocacy. It added that its entry into "The Sandbox" is "in full compliance with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)."
UnionBank aims to "support the growth of the Filipino Web3 community and artists through activities in the metaverse." The move "indicates banks and other prominent financial institutions are recognizing the maturing digital asset market and the growing interest in the decentralized economy from institutional investors and customers."
Since March 2021, Hex Trust has "been the first licensed digital asset custodian to support NFTs, including those that provide access to metaverse platforms such as The Sandbox."
Despite the broader digital asset economy's recent downturn, "the metaverse and GameFi sectors have been leading the growth of Web3, attracting users and investors alike."
