USPTO

Fujitsu interested in crypto trading services, trademark application reveals

The brand wants to offer financial services, including accepting deposits, financing loans, financial management and the exchange of crypto assets.

Japanese tech giant Fujitsu filed a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), revealing its intent to offer brokerage services for cryptocurrency trading, among other crypto and non-crypto financial facilities.

Fujitsu’s trademark application aims to register a new mark which “consists of the stylized word FUJITSU with a sideways s-shaped swirl over the J and I,” according to the official document filed on March 16. The branding is dedicated to offering financial services, including accepting deposits, financing loans, financial management and the exchange of crypto assets.

Fujitsu trademark application filed for the above logo. Source: tsdr.uspto.gov

The image above represents the updated logo Fujitsu intends to trademark for the services. In addition, the snippet below provides an overview of the services Fujitsu disclosed with the USPTO, along with the trademark request.

Fujitsu’s trademark application for crypto services. Source: tsdr.uspto.gov

Fujitsu’s growing interest in Web3 became evident when it launched a Web3 acceleration platform for startups and partner companies in February. The platform aims to support the creation of a diverse ecosystem of Web3 applications across a range of use cases, such as digital content rights management, business transactions, contracts and processes.

Related: Japanese prime minister says DAOs and NFTs help support government’s ‘Cool Japan’ strategy

At the beginning of 2023, financial regulators in Japan urged global regulators to introduce stricter banking rules for the crypto sector.

Deputy director general of the Financial Services Agency’s Strategy Development and Management Bureau, Mamoru Yanase, acknowledged that the problem wasn’t with crypto. “What’s brought about the latest scandal isn’t crypto technology itself,” he said, adding that the blame lay with “loose governance, lax internal controls, and the absence of regulation and supervision.”

Magazine: Samsung’s Bitcoin ETF, $700M bust, Coinbase exits Japan: Asia Express

Fidelity plans NFT marketplace and financial services in the metaverse

Newly filed trademark applications outline a long list of possible avenues for the firm in the metaverse.

Investment giant Fidelity Investments has filed trademark applications in the United States for a host of Web3 products and services, including a nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace and financial investment and crypto trading services in the metaverse.

This is according to three trademark filings submitted to the United States Patent Trademark Office (USPTO) on Dec. 21, which was highlighted by licensed trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis in a Dec. 27 tweet.

One of the key areas of the firm’s focus appears to be the metaverse, with Fidelity indicating that it could offer a wide range of investment services within virtual worlds including mutual funds, retirement funds, investment management and financial planning.

It also appears that metaverse-based payment services could be in the works, including electronic bill payments, fund transfers and the “financial administration of credit card accounts in the metaverse and other virtual worlds.”

In terms of crypto, the filings indicate that the firm could launch trading and management services in the metaverse, along with providing virtual currency wallet services.

“Electronic wallet services in the nature of 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.

Fidelity Investments Trademark filing: USPTO

Additionally, Fidelity outlines that it could offer educational services in the metaverse in the form of “conducting classes, workshops, seminars and conferences in the field of investments and in the field of marketing financial services.”

“Providing business information to financial service providers by means of an internet web site, in the field of business marketing in the metaverse and other virtual worlds; referral services in the field of investment advice and financial planning in the metaverse and other virtual worlds” one filing reads.

NFTs are also in Fidelity’s plans, with the investment manager stating that it could launch an “online marketplace for buyers and sellers of digital media, namely, non-fungible tokens,” however further details on such are sparse.

Related: Current infrastructure can’t support the metaverse, says Huawei report

The latest filings from Fidelity show that the firm has not been spooked by the intense bear market in 2022 and recent FTX implosion, and is instead looking to increase its exposure and offerings in Web3.

The firm essentially outlined as such and called for stronger regulation when responding to a Nov. 21 letter from crypto-hating senators Elizabeth Warren, Tina Smith and Richard Durbin, which had called on Fidelity to reconsider its Bitcoin (BTC) retirement products due to the “volatile, tumultuous and chaotic” nature of crypto assets.

A Fidelity spokesperson told Cointelegraph at the time that the company “has always prioritized operational excellence and customer protection” and noted that “recent events” in the crypto industry have only “underscored the importance of standards and safeguards.”

It is also worth noting that back in October, Fidelity was reportedly looking to beef up its crypto unit by hiring 100 new staff members, a stark contrast to a number of crypto firms that have laid off a significant amount of employees this year.

Nifty News: IHOP bamboozles crypto users with ‘NFT,’ Logan Paul’s NFT falls to $10 and more

The YouTube star’s huge loss on his NFT has been bumped up by a measly bid after he shared how much it had dropped in value since his purchase last year.

American restaurant chain International House of Pancakes (IHOP) piqued the curiosity of Twitter users last week when it announced it would be “jumping on the bandwagon” and dropping its own ”NFT.” As it has turned out, its new “NFT” is neither nonfungible nor a token. 

The pancake chain’s initial announcement on Oct. 6, made to sound like it was entering Web3 with a nonfungible token (NFT) drop, was met with a mixed response.

One Web3 supporter said, ”kudos to IHOP for having the courage to be on the leading edge and innovating for the future,” while others threatened to unfollow the restaurant’s Twitter account. 

However, when the food chain finally revealed its “NFT” on Oct. 10, it turned out it was in fact the chain’s “New French Toast” menu item, adding it is “Thick, Fluffy and extremely fungible.“

Twitter users shared a laugh over the chain’s devious ploy to sell more toast, though one Crypto Twitter commented that “they’re missing out on an opportunity to be a part of history” and getting “iHop.eth early.”

Logan Paul’s $600K NFT falls to $10

An NFT purchased for 188 Ether (ETH) at the cost of $623,000 in 2021 by American YouTuber Logan Paul saw a dramatic loss in value to only $10 by the end of September but has since a small price bump after it trended on social media.

Paul’s on-paper loss of over $600,000 on his 0N1 Force K4M-1 #03 NFT has been public knowledge for months, but after the YouTuber shared a post on his Snapchat on Sept. 27 talking about it, several Twitter users picked up the story resulting in more attention for the NFT.

Now, the token has a bid of 1.5 ETH on NFT marketplace OpenSea, around $1,900 at the time of writing.

Paul isn’t the only one feeling the pinch after the crypto market took a sharp fall in May.

NFT trading volume has plunged 98% from the $6.2 billion witnessed around the end of January to $114.4 million today.

Crypto trademark applications rise

Data shared by trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis on Twitter shows so far this year, 4,618 United States trademark applications have been filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO) related to the Metaverse and virtual goods or services, with 367 of those taking place in September.

Crypto related trademark applications by month. Source: Mike Kondoudis

Notable filings for the month include the car brand Ford filing 19 trademarks for all its major models of trucks, cars, and vans to be represented in an NFT as virtual vehicles.

Whiskey manufacturer Jack Daniel’s filed a new trademark application on Sept. 19 for NFT-authenticated media, virtual beverages, barware, clothing and digital collectibles.

Media brand Viacom International filed two trademarks for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Sept. 12 to expand the brand into NFT-backed media, crypto collectibles and crypto-collectible transfer software, while Paramount Pictures filed two trademarks for their Mean Girls brand on Sept. 12 for similar applications.

Binance set Guinness World Record for the largest crypto lesson

Crypto exchange Binance teamed up with Mexico-based agency the Talent Network to break a Guinness World Record for the largest cryptocurrency lesson in the world during an Oct. 7 class at Blockchain Land, Nuevo León, Mexico.

While only 289 people attended the 50-minute class held by Binance, it was enough to break the record.

Carolina Carnelli, head of marketing at Binance in Latin America, instructed the attendees on crypto and Web3, how they can contribute to the freedom of money and financial inclusion around the world and the benefits of blockchain.

The lesson also featured a remote presentation from Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s founder and CEO.

The hybrid event combined in-person and online attendees, but online participants did not count toward the total for the record.

The Talent Network has two previous records already, for the world’s largest robotics class in 2018 and the world’s largest software class in 2019.

More Nifty News:

Ethereum blockchain-based metaverse projects Decentraland and Sandbox hit back at reports suggesting low daily user activity on their platforms, claiming the data used was based on a “misinformed” metric.

The anonymous creator of decentralized finance (DeFi) project aggregator DefiLlama, 0xngmi, announced on Twitter that their smart contract code for a novel NFT borrowing and lending protocol dubbed LlamaLend is near completion. The protocol aims to solve the problem of NFT holders needing to obtain liquidity when holding their digital collectibles and primarily targets small collections.

Ford prepares to enter the Metaverse with virtual automobiles and NFTs

A trademark application covering its future efforts in the Metaverse and NFT space comes only a month after the company announced huge staff cuts.

American car manufacturer Ford Motor Company is the latest car brand prepping its entry into the world of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and the Metaverse — filing 19 trademark applications across its major car brands. 

United States Patent and Trade Office (USPTO) licensed trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis revealed in a Wednesday tweet that the company had filed a total of 19 trademark applications covering its car brands including Mustang, Bronco, Lincoln, Explorer and F-150 Lightning, among others. 

The trademark applications cover virtual cars, trucks, vans, SUVs and clothing for its brands and also cover a proposed online marketplace for NFTs. 

According to USPTO documents filed by Ford on Sept. 2, the car manufacturer plans to create downloadable artwork, text, audio and video featuring its cars, SUVs, trucks and vans, which will be authenticated by NFTs.

The company also revealed plans for “downloadable virtual goods,” namely “computer programs” featuring vehicle parts and accessories and clothing for use in “online virtual worlds,” including online trade shows conducted in virtual reality and augmented reality.

There are also intentions to create a marketplace to promote the “digital artwork of others” through a website, along with “online retail store services featuring non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and digital collectibles.”

Related: Lamborghini-backed GT racing team to authenticate car parts using NFTs

Ford’s decision to enter into the Web3 space comes less than a month after Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford and CEO Jim Farley announced massive staff cuts from its global workforce to reduce company expenditure.

Ford is not the first car company to make a move into the Metaverse space.

Automobile companies like Nissan, Toyota, and Hyundai have announced plans to expand into the rapidly growing Metaverse space, while luxury car manufacturers such as Bentley and Lamborghini have already rolled out NFT collections.