By
Temitope Olatunji
April 18th, 2024
Amid the crypto market fall, Visa, PayPal, and Western Union filed new trademark applications involving crypto and Web3 products and services this month.
Top financial services providers Visa (NYSE: V), PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL), and Western Union (NYSE: WU) are among the increasing number of notable companies showing interest in crypto and the Web3 industry. The influx of companies into the crypto world is alarming despite the ongoing bear market that has left many investors in losses.
Visa, PayPal, and Western Union Files Crypto Trademark Applications
Amid the crypto market fall, Visa, PayPal, and Western Union filed new trademark applications involving crypto and Web3 products and services this month. As for Visa, the San Francisco multinational financial services is considering a crypto wallet. In its filings dated 22nd October, the company described the “cryptocurrency wallet” as “software for users to view, access, store, monitor, manage, trade, send, receive, transmit, and exchange digital currency, virtual currency, cryptocurrency, digital and blockchain assets, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).”
While Visa stock currently trades up at 0.20% to $209.75, PayPal is up 0.58% to $86.75, and Western Union is now at $13.91 in after-hours trading.
Visa has lost over 1% over the past year and declined 3.40% since the year started. Also, V has plunged 1.31% in the last three months. It appears the company is gradually rebounding from its losses, with a 17,84% jump over the past month. In the last five days, Visa has increased by 9.96%.
Additionally, the company hinted at a shop in the metaverse. It said it will provide “virtual environments” for recreation, entertainment, and leisure purposes “accessible in the virtual world.”
Meanwhile, PayPal is working on its own crypto wallet, according to its application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The company aims for a “downloadable and recorded computer software” to process electronic payments. The software will also be used for money transfers. PayPal currently allows the buying and transfer of cryptocurrencies on its platform. Users can buy crypto and send them to other wallets. However, the company supports four crypto assets, namely, Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Litecoin (LTC).
More as More Companies Embrace Crypto and NFTs
PayPal stock has declined over 54% since the year started. This is in addition to the nearly 63% fall it has lost over the past year. The company has seen a 2.75% addition in the last five days.
Western Union also submitted a similar application to PayPal and Visa. The company is also considering downloadable software for financial services use. It specified that it would be for “the management and maintenance of digital currency and electronic wallets, processing of electronic payments, and issuing receipts regarding mobile payment transactions.”
Over 6,300 US trademark applications have been filed for crypto and NFTs in 2022. Meanwhile, there were only 2,100 applications throughout 2021. That means that NFT trademark applications filed so far this year in the US have surged X3 more than 2021’s record. And the latest contributors to the growth are Visa, PayPal, and Western Union.