Popular cryptocurrency exchange, Binance.US, is building space in Portals, a metaverse platform built on the Solana blockchain. Portals is a metaverse platform that recreates a dense urban environment where users can explore buildings and interactive rooms.
Portals’ head of community and partnerships Chris Lund confirmed this in a Twitter message to CoinDesk. He stated, “Binance.US is getting a space in Portals Downtown with a focus on delivering the latest news, charts, and events virtually.”
He also added that FTX.US, the U.S. arm of crypto exchange FTX, will also build its own office in Portals.
Read: Binance burns $639 million worth of BNB
Binance.US spokesperson, Zachary Tindall said the virtual buildout is meant to be a gathering place for exchange users. He stated in an email to CoinDesk thus, “We are creating a space in the metaverse for the Binance.US community to come together. It’s the first of many steps we’re taking to be forward-looking as we build and reach our community in new environments.”
What you should know
Metaverses generally describes a virtual world in which people can interact as they do in the real world, but digitally.
Many companies have been rushing headfirst into open metaverses such as The Sandbox and Decentraland, both of which are Ethereum-based. Portals seems to be an early favourite for investors that is not on the Ethereum blockchain but is built on the high-speed Solana blockchain.
Read: Binance lost 3% of its customers due to KYC requirements – Changpeng Zhao
According to CoinDesk, Chris Lund also mentioned that Solana based projects like Raydium, Magic Eden, Audius, Bonfida and others will also have a presence in the Portals metaverse.
Traditional companies have also begun to turn their attention towards the concept of a metaverse. Since social media giant Facebook underwent a major rebrand and became Meta in a broader effort to lead metaverse-based applications, many companies like Walmart and Nike are reportedly building metaverses to cater to their business niche.
Read: Binance adds $2 billion worth of Bitcoin to its portfolio
Over in Decentraland, global electronics giant Samsung launched a metaverse version of its Samsung 837 location in New York City. Called “Samsung 837X,” the pop-up space featured quests leading to exclusive NFTs and live mixed-reality events.
In 2022, it is expected that a lot of attention in the cryptocurrency space will be on metaverse as many companies have been seen to purchase digital lands in various metaverses. For example, Decentraland has seen the biggest NFT land sale over the last 30 days, with a plot consisting of 116 parcels of land in the virtual world’s Fashion Street District selling for 618,000 MANA tokens ($1.8 million at current prices).