Investment giant Fidelity Investments recently submitted three trademark applications to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a wide range of Web3 products and services. These include an NFT marketplace, financial investment options, and cryptocurrency trading in the metaverse – all filed on Dec 21st, as pointed out by licensed trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis via his tweet on Dec 27th.
Fidelity Investments plans to provide new services
Fidelity Investments prioritizes the metaverse, offering investment services within simulated environments such as mutual funds, retirement accounts, asset management, and financial planning. Additionally, it appears that metaverse-based payment services could be actualized soon. These would include electronic bill payments, fund transfers, and the capability to manage credit card accounts within virtual worlds and the metaverse itself.
Nonetheless, it is evident from the documents that this firm could likely provide virtual currency wallet services and offer trading and management solutions in cyberspace. With these upcoming developments, the crypto space may just be on its way to a whole new level.
“Electronic wallet services like electronic storage and processing of virtual currency for electronic payments and transactions via a global computer network; digital currency, virtual currency, cryptocurrency digital token,” the filing reads.
As Fidelity outlines, they would be able to provide educational services in the metaverse, such as classes, workshops, seminars, and conferences related to investments and financial services marketing.
Fidelity is actively considering the launch of an online marketplace for NFTs, however, details regarding this endeavor are still largely unknown. Also, this initiative would enable buyers and sellers to partake in digital media transactions related to non-fungible tokens.
Fidelity’s bold expansion into the crypto space
Fidelity stands out amongst other major financial services companies by its rapid adoption of digital assets. In October, it stated that it would be adding an extra 100 crypto experts to its digital asset team- a move that would bring the total size of the team up to 500.
In April, the firm announced its intentions to add Bitcoin as an investment option for 401(K) plans. Unfortunately, not everyone was pleased with this decision, and three United States senators requested that it be reversed due to the highly uncertain nature of cryptocurrencies. The senators noted the industry’s “volatile, tumultuous and chaotic” state, which could jeopardize retirement savings if allowed in 401(K)s without proper risk management considerations.
Last October, Fidelity Digital Assets announced that it enabled Ethereum (ETH) trading for its institutional customers. This news is incredibly compelling because Fidelity holds assets with an estimated value of $2.7 trillion. With this new disclosure, Fidelity has become a significant player in ushering in a wave of mainstream adoption and usage within the metaverse space.
Despite the bear market, Fidelity is undeterred in its investment expansion into the crypto space. Last November, it unveiled Fidelity Crypto to cater specifically to retail investors—and it’s already accrued a long waiting list of eager customers.
