Banking Giant HSBC Files Trademarks for a Wide Range of Digital Currency and Metaverse Products

Banking giant HSBC has filed trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a wide range of digital currency products and services, including those related to the metaverse and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

HSBC has filed two crypto-related trademark applications for its name and logo with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Mike Kondoudis, a USPTO-licensed trademark attorney, noted in a tweet Friday that HSBC’s trademark applications indicate the bank’s plans for a number of digital products and services, including those related to the exchange and transfer of virtual currencies.

HSBC’s crypto-related trademark applications were filed on Dec. 15; their serial numbers are 97718803 and 97718583. The bank described a wide range of products and services in its applications, including sending, receiving, converting, and storing digital currencies.

The trademark applications also detail several metaverse-related products and services, such as “facilitating secure payment transactions by electronic means in the metaverse,” “providing banking services in the metaverse,” and “providing processing of virtual credit card, virtual debit card, virtual prepaid card, and virtual payment card transactions in the metaverse.” HSBC also included a number of NFT services, such as “downloadable digital files authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs).”

HSBC joined the metaverse by partnering with blockchain virtual gaming platform The Sandbox in March. However, HSBC Group’s CEO, Noel Quinn, said in September that crypto is not in the bank’s future.

An increasing number of major corporations and financial services institutions have filed trademark applications covering a wide range of digital currency and metaverse products and services. For example, Visa, Paypal, and Western Union filed crypto-related trademark applications in October. Last month, JPMorgan Chase was granted a wallet trademark covering various virtual currency and payment services.

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