Meta files ‘Meta Pay’ trademark applications teasing crypto payments platform

On May 13, Meta, formerly Facebook, submitted five trademark applications for a new platform - Meta Pay. 

The trademark applications submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) described Meta Pay as ‘an online social networking service for investors allowing financial trades and exchange of digital currency, virtual currency, cryptocurrency, digital and Blockchain assets, digital and blockchain assets, digitized assets, digital tokens, crypto tokens and utility tokens.’

Apart from enabling payment and trading, Meta Pay will also provide user authentication, identity validation services and serve as a cryptocurrency wallet.

One of the trademark application documents also describes the platform will be used for ‘enabling users to invest in digital currency’ and ‘providing a digital exchange’, which suggests Meta’s ambition of establishing itself as a crypto exchange. 

Meta spent US$ 60 million to acquire the MetaPay.com domain name from MetaBank back in December 2021.

Meta’s progress in the Metaverse

Since Facebook rebranded to Meta in October 2021, the social media giant has launched a series of initiatives aimed at the cryptocurrency user base and expanding into the Metaverse. These efforts have not gotten off to a great start with its Metaverse-focused Reality Labs having lost almost US$ 3 billion in Q1 2022 while Meta’s stock is down 42% at the time of writing. 

Meta has also recently abandoned its digital wallet project NOVI and its stablecoin project Diem amid backlash from regulators across the globe. The former developers flocked to other Blockchain projects and the assets of the initiative were sold to U.S. bank Silvergate.  

Back in March, Meta filed eight trademark applications with the USPTO related to the Metaverse and Blockchain technology. On May 9, Meta CEO Zuckerberg announced that they had started NFT testing on Instagram.

Other U.S.- based companies have also filed similar trademark applications, including Walmart, McDonald’s, the New York Stock Exchange, Mastercard, the Air Force. However, the trademark filings cannot be perceived as actual plans instead mere signs that the companies are intending to issue products in the Metaverse or gain entry into the Metaverse as described in their trademark applications. 

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