Citigroup Inc. the US-based multinational investment bank and financial services corporation are the latest big bank to show their hand regarding a valuation of the metaverse and their projections are ‘bullish’ to say the least.
Their latest report, published yesterday, estimates that the metaverse economy could be heading for a value of $8 to $13 trillion by 2030. (For those not accustomed to dealing in trillions, that’s one million million…)
While we’re used to concepts such as gaming, virtual reality, communications and retail being pitched as ‘metaverse ready’ it’s worth noting that Citi’s broader (bigger) definition includes advertising and manufacturing possibilities alongside wider, non-metaverse concepts such as banking and cryptocurrency, which goes some way to explain those gigantic numbers.
Billions spending trillions…
With this broad meta/crypto stage set, Citi predict five billion visitors by 2030 all helping to shovel in trillions of dollars in revenue.
It all adds up to a clear ‘hop on board’ message to businesses of practically any kind as the group sketch out ‘the metaverse’ as essentially being the next generation of the internet that we all know and love.
And Citi aren’t the first to enthuse on all things meta and Web3. In December 2021 Goldman Sachs placed a valuation of $12.5 trillion on the metaverse, estimating that a third of the current digital economy will move into – what they describe as – ‘virtual worlds’.
Place your bets…
While the long term gains appear to be clear, currently investment in all that is meta isn’t quite the sure thing that such valuations imply. Big players such as Roblox have had their stock price drop 27% across the last year and far-sighted new funds such as Roundhill Investment’s Metaverse ETV are down 19% since its launch in July 2021.
Meanwhile known, bankable going concerns such as Nvidia – who’ve increasingly made their metaverse tech and AI work a priority – are already riding the early wave with a market capitalization of more than $700 billion and a share price up 110% over the past year.
The future seems bright. If not quite the sure thing just yet.
Daniel Griffiths is a veteran journalist who has worked on some of the world's biggest entertainment, home and tech media brands. He's reviewed all the greats, interviewed countless big names, and reported on thousands of releases in the fields of video games, music, movies, tech, gadgets, home improvement, self build, interiors, garden design and more. He’s the ex-Editor of PSM3, GamesMaster, Future Music and ex-Group Editor-in-Chief of Electronic Musician, Guitarist, Guitar World, Computer Music and more. He renovates property and writes fun things for great websites.
