Major Financial organization, HSBC has filed for a metaverse and NFT (non-fungible token) trademark application. Among the bank’s trademarks are metaverse banking, consulting, and financial services, along with virtual credit cards. This could mean that the firm is looking to open a branch in the metaverse. Apart from the metaverse-related applications, HSBC has also covered NFTs and NFT-backed media.
HSBC is also applying for patents related to various software. Firstly, they have applied for software for facilitating secure payment transactions by electronic means in the metaverse. Secondly, they have applied for software patens around identity verification and fraud prevention in the virtual world. Furthermore, they are also applying for software patents around banking services in the metaverse. All of this is covered under IC 009 of the filing.
The bank has also applied for trademarks for the provision of online marketplaces, specifically for NFTs. The bank plans to bring together a “variety of services.” These include credit card services, loans, payment services, currency conversions, etc.
Does HSBC expect the metaverse and NFT hype to return?
The hype around digital collectibles has all but died out. Artworks that were worth hundreds of thousands of dollars are currently worth pennies. Moreover, the hype around a shared metaverse has also significantly fallen. Facebook’s parent company Meta had heavy losses on its Metaverse investments.
Although investments into NFTs and metaverse initiatives did not pay off in the last couple of years, the idea itself is very much alive. In fact, it is expected that there will soon be a larger exodus of services into a virtual space. With the world becoming more and more digital, a common virtual space will likely open in the near future. Apple has also unveiled its artificial reality headset recently. A tech company as big as Apple moving into the virtual space is a solid indicator that the idea is still growing and far from being dead.