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Digital Currency Group, Jamestown create virtual world at One Times Square

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January 4, 2022

Digital Currency Group, an investor in the blockchain and digital assets industry, and real estate firm Jamestown have formed a partnership to recreate One Time Square in Decentraland, a decentralized virtual world, according to a company press release.

DCG owns digital real estate in Decentraland. Jamestown is the owner of One Times Square, which is the site of the New Year's Eve Ball Drop Celebration.

"The metaverse is quickly evolving to bring together the most interesting and alluring parts of our favorite physical places around the world," Simon Koster, DCG's head of real estate, said in the release. "From destinations, to gaming, education, retail and more, we can expect the metaverse to revolutionize our current online experience. This event highlights how virtual events can cohesively integrate with real ones in an effort to bring once-in-a-lifetime experiences to so many that would have never been able to participate otherwise."

The virtual One Times Square launched in Decentraland on New Year's Eve with the MetaFest 2022 global party featuring music and entertainment acts, rooftop VIP lounges, CryptoArt galleries, and immersive games. Live feeds of the real-world Times Square and virtual Zoom parties streamed on digital billboards, bringing partygoers together in the metaverse to celebrate the New Year.

"The future of real estate is the thoughtful integration of the virtual and physical worlds, optimized for user experience," Michael Phillips, president of Jamestown, said in the release. "The metaverse is an important part of the evolution of real estate and the built environment. Whereas physical real estate is largely limited to people with geographic proximity, the metaverse can give people around the world meaningful access to places through immersive virtual experiences. Recreating One Times Square in the Decentraland metaverse is part of a larger digital asset strategy to evolve and enhance our physical real estate for Web 3.0 and open new pathways for our assets to exist in multiple metaverses in the future."