Crypto exchange Binance.US is building a space in Portals, a metaverse platform built on the Solana blockchain. Portals recreates a dense urban environment where users can explore buildings and interactive rooms.
“Binance.US is getting a space in Portals Downtown with a focus on delivering the latest news, charts, and events virtually,” Portals head of community and partnerships Chris Lund said in a Twitter message to CoinDesk.
Lund said FTX.US, the U.S. arm of crypto exchange FTX, will also build its own office in Portals.
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 favorite for capturing metaverse mania on the high-speed Solana blockchain.
Binance.US spokesperson Zachary Tindall said the virtual buildout is meant to be a gathering place for exchange users.
“We are creating a space in the metaverse for the Binance.US community to come together,” Tindall told CoinDesk in an email. “It’s the first of many steps we’re taking to be forward-looking as we build and reach our community in new environments.”
And Binance won’t be alone.
Solana projects Raydium, Magic Eden, Audius, Bonfida and others will also have a presence in the Portals metaverse, Lund said. Metaverses generally describe a virtual world in which people can interact as they do in the real world, but digitally.
Traditional companies have made a beeline for the metaverse in the past year. Social media giant Facebook underwent a major rebrand and became Meta in a broader effort to lead metaverse-based applications. It’s unclear how Facebook’s metaverse effort will interact with existing open metaverses.
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.
Zack Seward contributed reporting.
Shaurya is an analyst/editor for CoinDesk’s markets team in Asia.
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