Asset management firm Fidelity Investments, valued at $4.2 trillion, has filed trademark applications in the United States for a number of Web3 products and services, including a non-fungible token marketplace (NFTs) and services of financial investment and cryptocurrency trading in the metaverse.
This emerges from three trademark applications filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on December 21, which were also highlighted by licensed trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis in a December 27 tweet.
#Fidelity have plans for the metaverse!
The company has filed 3 trademark applications covering
▶️ NFTs + NFT Marketplaces
▶️ Metaverse Investment Services
▶️ Virtual Real Estate Investing
▶️ Cryptocurrency Trading
… and more!#NFTs #Metaverse #Crypto #Web3 #Defi #finance pic.twitter.com/op9fg80e7z—Mike Kondoudis (@KondoudisLaw) December 26, 2022
One of the firm’s key areas of focus appears to be the Metaverse, with Fidelity indicating that it could offer a wide range of investment services within virtual worlds, including mutual funds, superannuation funds, investment management and financial planning, to name a few. Some.
It also appears that metaverse-based payment services may be in the works, including electronic bill payments, funds transfers, and the “financial management of credit card accounts in the metaverse and other virtual worlds.”
As for cryptocurrencies, the files indicate that the company could also launch trading and management services in the metaverse, along with providing virtual currency wallet services.
“Electronic wallet services in the nature of electronic storage and processing of virtual currency for electronic payments and transactions over a global computer network; digital currency, virtual currency, cryptocurrency digital token,” the filing reads.
Additionally, Fidelity outlines that it could offer educational services in the Metaverse in the form of “conducting classes, workshops, seminars, and conferences in the field of investing and in the field of financial services marketing.”
“Providing business information to financial service providers via a website on the Internet, in the field of business marketing in the metaverse and other virtual worlds; referral services in the field of investment advice and financial planning in the metaverse and other virtual worlds”, reads one of the presentations.
NFTs are also in the works at Fidelity, which says it could also launch an “online marketplace for buyers and sellers of digital media, namely non-fungible tokens,” though there are no further details on that.
Fidelity’s latest files show that the firm has not been spooked by the intense 2022 bear market and the recent FTX implosion, and is instead looking to increase its exposure and offerings on Web3.
The firm essentially outlined itself as such and called for tighter regulation in responding to a Nov. 21 letter from crypto-hating senators Elizabeth Warren, Tina Smith, and Richard Durbin, who had called on Fidelity to reconsider its Bitcoin retirement products ( BTC) due to the “volatile, tumultuous and chaotic” nature of crypto assets.
A Fidelity spokesperson told Cointelegraph at the time that the company “has always prioritized operational excellence and customer protection” noting that “recent developments” in the crypto industry have only “underscored the importance of standards and safeguards. “
It’s also worth noting that in October, Fidelity was looking to bolster its crypto unit by hiring 100 new staff members, providing a stark contrast to a number of crypto firms that have laid off significant numbers of employees this year.
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