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BofA strategist Haim Israel says the metaverse will see widespread use of cryptocurrencies for transactions within virtual worlds being developed by companies such as Meta.
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He notes that with the “right platforms” in place to support the metaverse, crypto as a whole has a huge opportunity for further growth.
Bank of America strategist Haim Israel believes the metaverse presents a major opportunity for cryptocurrencies. He points out that the surge in interest around virtual worlds and the race to build them provide a strong springboard for crypto platforms.
Israel also says this development could be transformational for cryptocurrencies because metaverse users will need digital assets to facilitate transactions and exchange value within those virtual environments.
The BofA researcher, who heads the bank’s thematic investment group, discussed these views in an interview with Insider.
He told the publication that the metaverse will require the right platforms to be in place—a scenario that could push the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem to a new level of maturity.
“I definitely think this is a huge, massive opportunity,” Israel said.
According to him, the metaverse is the environment that may finally encourage people to use crypto as a medium of exchange. That possibility implies some cryptocurrencies could emerge with dominant ecosystems to serve that demand.
While many digital assets tied to metaverse projects have spiked in value over recent weeks, Israel warns that many of those tokens are likely too volatile to function effectively as currencies. For that reason, he expects the space could see stablecoins gain prominence as preferred transactional instruments.
Israel also sees established payments companies taking a strong interest in crypto as metaverse usage grows. He believes this offers another growth opportunity for those firms and predicts widespread use of digital currencies in virtual worlds will drive more partnerships between tech platforms, payment providers and crypto projects.
Major companies including Meta, Google, Microsoft and Apple are all exploring the metaverse ecosystem. Industry observers such as Grayscale Investments have suggested the sector could expand to a market around $1 trillion in the coming years.