How Ginko Financial, the most famous bank in ‘Second Life’, collapsed

Raf Koster, co-founder ofAltima Onlineone of the pioneers of online role-playing games, likes to say that “The libertarian economic model does not survive management” From a virtual world. According to him, “non-interference” collides with the ingenuity and greed of the players. And the second lifeOne of the most famous of these universes, perhaps Example of this belief.

Launched in 2003 by Linden Lab, second life It is a platform where users can freely create and interact in 3D worlds (today a little dated visually). It’s not only a place where you can visit Mont-Saint-Michel on the fly or chat in a cyberpunk café in a bear costume, it’s also very fast becoming budget El Dorado. Real estate developers have made their fortunes there, by selling or renting virtual plots of land. Others created banks: the most famous of them was called Ginko Financial, and today it is one of the most controversial names in the gaming economy.

The outline is not clear

It is difficult to accurately trace the origin and actual operation of Ginko Financial, which was introduced from 2005 to 2007 as an investment bank operating in second life. Linden Lab’s current management team hasn’t been working on it yet – at least that’s the reason the company gave that the interview request was declined. We were able to identify only one ex-employee of this fictitious financial firm: “Hinoserm”, a US citizen living in Texas, who initially agreed on principle to interview with the scientistbefore not responding to us.

In 2004, on gaming forums, Nicholas Portocarrero (pseudonym), the future founder of Ginko Financial, Residents’ opinion polls From second life. “I want to start a kind of investment bank, where people can deposit money that will be used for profitable business and then receive interest or profits”, then explained. Early responses are mixed. “I have seen many banks in second lifeAnd they all collapsed.”user says. without undermining Portocarrero’s ambition.

At that time, the economic ecosystem second life It was still in its infancy. In 2004, Linden Lab announced that people could exchange their Linden dollars [ou L$, la monnaie gagnée en jeu] against the US dollar. It was revolutionary.”explains Wagner James Au, who worked as a journalist at Linden Lab and is publishing soon A book about metaverses. In the aftermath, several exchange platforms were launched and offered to buy and sell Linden dollars.

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