Second Life is cutting off in-world ‘banks’ that don’t provide an...
Second Life is cutting off in-world “banks” that don’t provide an “applicable government registration statement or financial institution charter,” as of Jan. 22, owner Linden Lab said on the Second Life corporate blog. “Since the collapse of Ginko Financial…
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in August 2007, Linden Lab has received complaints about several in-world ‘banks’ defaulting on their promises” of annual returns as high as 60 percent. The policy covers anyone offering a direct return on investment, in Linden dollars or real-world currency. Without a change, banks offering “unsustainably high interest rates” likely will collapse and “lead to the destabilization of the virtual economy,” and it’s unclear what their duties are to depositors, the company said. “There is no workable alternative,” least of all Linden “acting as a banking regulator.” The company will start removing virtual ATMs or any other objects facilitating banking Jan. 22, and if banks don’t “settle up” with depositors by then, Linden may suspend or terminate their accounts or take their in-world land. Financial organizations in Second Life who merely provide “marketing or education,” but don’t take payments, are exempt.