The metaverse is a rapidly evolving concept in the business world, representing an inclusive dimension of innovative elements such as technologies, marketplaces, and social interactions. The financial industry is paying close attention to this concept, since it offers limitless potential for virtual customer interactions. Banks are increasingly utilising technology to offer their services and are therefore interested in exploring the metaverse as a natural evolution of their industry to build closer relationships with their customers. However, the added value for banks needs to be carefully evaluated, and the lack of clear regulation could cause hesitation. Additionally, the metaverse could amplify potential risks of cybercrime in the financial and banking sectors. This chapter explores banks’ approaches to the metaverse as a new way to exploit the potential of distributed ledger technologies and presents a summary framework on the development opportunities (and related hazards), for financial intermediaries.

Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) is a way of managing, storing, and sharing information over a distributed network. The position of DLT in banking can be seen as controversial as it is a rapidly evolving technology with both potential benefits and challenges. The Role of Distributed Ledger Technology in Banking presents a balanced assessment of both the opportunities and risks behind such recent innovations. Combining theory and practice, it explores the impact of DLT in the banking sector and offers the opportunity to exploit different points of view from different disciplines. It presents topics from both a theoretical and practical point of view, highlighting concrete applications. Written by a team of experts from academia and the banking sector, this book looks at DLT not as a threat but as an exciting opportunity to bring the banking/financial system in the future.

This chapter provides a fundamental overview of the DLT in banking, emphasising the sectors present issues and fundamental industry shifts. To achieve this, the chapter will examine the principal DLTs projects and implementations in banking, categorising them into two main categories based on the type of need met: (i) products and services designed to meet the needs of financial institutions customers and (ii) internal processes and operations designed to meet the needs of financial intermediaries. As a result, the chapter concentrates on the primary features of the prevalent use cases in the sector, emphasising strengths and weaknesses.