HSBC, a global banking firm, has applied for a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). According to the information shared by Mike Kondoudis, a USPTO-licensed trademark attorney, the trademark will cover several digital assets and services including the metaverse, cryptocurrencies, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The application, which was filed on December 15, 2022, and with serial numbers, 97718803 and 97718583, seeks to allow the bank to send, receive, convert and store digital currencies.
Further details from the trademark request show that HSBC wants to provide banking services in the metaverse, enable payments in the metaverse, and allow the “processing of virtual credit card, virtual debit card, virtual prepaid card, and virtual payment card transactions in the metaverse.”
The multinational organization also asked for permission to provide non-downloadable virtual goods such as NFTs (non-fungible tokens), and to offer advisory as well as consultancy services connected to the metaverse and NFTs.
Crypto and traditional payment services
Despite the CEO of HSBC opposing the idea of using bitcoin or creating a platform for trading cryptocurrencies, the bank took its first step into the metaverse in March 2022.
In November, the same bank announced plans to launch the Orion blockchain bond tokenization platform which was planned to be used by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to issue a GBP tokenized bond under Luxembourg law.
While several traditional institutions have not embraced the Web3 world, HSBC and others, especially payment platforms such as Visa, PayPal, and Western Union, are taking a bet on the future of digital asset creation.
In the trademark race, Visa, PayPal, and Western Union applied for crypto-linked stamps in October while JP Morgan received its first wallet trademark for digital asset services.
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