On Wednesday (March 16), financial services giant HSBC and Ethereum-powered play-to-earn (P2E) game The Sandbox announced \u201ca new partnership that will open up a host of opportunities for virtual communities across the world to engage with global financial services providers and sports communities in The Sandbox metaverse.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Sandbox is a subsidiary of\u00a0Animoca Brands.<\/p>\n
Animoca Brands, which was founded in January 2014 by Yat Siu and David Kim, and its various subsidiaries \u201cdevelop and publish a broad portfolio of blockchain games, traditional games, and other products, many of which are based on popular global brands, such as Formula 1\u00ae, Disney, WWE, Power Rangers, MotoGP\u2122, and Doraemon. Animoca Brands is also a prolific investor with over 100 investments in NFT-related blockchain companies, including\u00a0Sky Mavis\u00a0(Axie Infinity<\/em>),\u00a0Dapper Labs\u00a0(NBA Top Shot<\/em>),\u00a0OpenSea,\u00a0Harmony,\u00a0Bitski, and\u00a0Alien Worlds.\u201d<\/p>\n Here is how Binance Research\u00a0described\u00a0The Sandbox back in August 2020:<\/p>\n \u201cThe Sandbox is a virtual world built on the Ethereum blockchain, where players can build, own, and monetize their gaming experiences\u2026 The SAND token is an ERC-20 utility token that is used for value transfers as well as staking and governance\u2026 Players can create digital assets in the form of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), upload them to the marketplace, and integrate into games with Game Maker.<\/em>\u201c<\/p>\n And here is the how The Sandbox team describes\u00a0SAND\u00a0and\u00a0LAND:<\/p>\n \u201cSAND is the utility token used throughout The Sandbox ecosystem as the basis for transactions and interactions. It is an ERC-20 utility token built on the Ethereum blockchain. There is a finite supply of 3,000,000,000 SAND.<\/em>..<\/p>\n \u201cThe Sandbox Metaverse is made up of LANDS, that are parts of the world, owned by players to create and monetize experiences. There will only ever be 166,464 LANDS available, which can be used to host games, build multiplayer experiences, create housing, or offer social experiences to the community.<\/em>\u201c<\/p>\n According to a blog post published by The Sandbox team earlier today, this partnership will \u201csee the global financial services provider acquire a plot of LAND, virtual real estate in The Sandbox metaverse, which will be developed to engage and connect with sports, esports and gaming enthusiasts.\u201d <\/p>\n Suresh Balaji, Chief Marketing Officer, Asia-Pacific, HSBC, had this to say:<\/p>\n \u201cThe metaverse is how people will experience Web3, the next generation of the Internet \u2014 using immersive technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality and extended reality. At HSBC, we see great potential to create new experiences through emerging platforms, opening up a world of opportunity for our current and future customers and for the communities we serve. <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThrough our partnership with The Sandbox we are making our foray into the metaverse, allowing us to create innovative brand experiences for new and existing customers. We\u2019re excited to be working with our sports partners, brand ambassadors, and Animoca Brands to co-create experiences that are educational, inclusive and accessible.<\/em>\u201c<\/p>\n And Sebastien Borget, COO and Co-founder of The Sandbox, said: <\/p>\nHSBC Is Investing in Virtual Real Estate in The Sandbox Metaverse<\/h2>\n