On Dec. 27, licensed trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis revealed the latest crypto trademark applications from Fidelity Investments.
There were three applications filed broadly covering Metaverse technologies and services, NFTs and marketplaces, virtual land, and cryptocurrency trading.
The first relates to digital media and NFTs, and the second is the provision for an online marketplace for the sale of NFTs.
It appears that Fidelity wants to offer its services in the Metaverse rather than build its own Metaverse. The third trademark application included mutual fund investment services, retirement fund investment services, investment management, financial planning, and electronic bill payment in the Metaverse and other virtual worlds.
It also mentions digital currency services, crypto trading, wallets, storage, and custody. Pretty much anything related to crypto was mentioned in the application filing.
Fidelity is one of America’s largest pension providers, and it allowed investors to include Bitcoin in their pension plans earlier this year. The move riled anti-crypto policymakers such as Elizabeth Warren, who urged the firm to reconsider, citing the same tired warnings over risks and money laundering.
In November, the asset manager’s crypto unit Fidelity Digital Assets, allowed its retail clients to invest in Bitcoin and Ethereum. The firm is clearly still keen on the asset class and related web3 technologies despite this year’s bear market.
On Dec. 23, international banking giant HSBC filed trademark applications for its name and logo. They include provisions for NFTs, crypto exchange and transfer, and Metaverse credit card processing.
The bear market has hit Metaverse-related tokens harder than the dominant assets such as BTC and ETH.
Top Metaverse tokens such as Axie Infinity (AXS), The Sandbox (SAND), and Decentraland (MANA) have all been battered by the bears.
AXS is currently trading at $6.84, having lost 96% from its November 2021 all-time high of $165. Furthermore, SAND is down to $0.442 after getting hit 94.7% from its peak of $8.40 in the same month. Decentraland’s MANA is priced at $0.326, having lost 94.4% over the past year.
Other gaming and Metaverse tokens, such as Enjin Coin (ENJ), Render (RNDR), and Magic (MAGIC), are also down over 90% from their peaks.