- Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) filed 15 trademark applications for its brand name, its "Priceless" slogan, and its circles logo that point to nonfungible token and metaverse ambitions, the Insider reports.
- Mastercard's applications filed to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office outlined plans to process virtual cards, hold entertainment and educational services in the metaverse, and create an online marketplace for digital assets authenticated by NFTs.
- Mastercard looked to avoid disintermediation, especially in metaverses built on decentralized blockchains.
- Mastercard wants to establish itself in the metaverse and NFTs before the hype reaches a fever pitch.
- Morgan Stanley saw the metaverse as "the next big theme" in investing last year.
- Mastercard started letting people purchase NFTs using Mastercard cards on Coinbase Global Inc's (NASDAQ:COIN) new NFT marketplace in January.
- Mastercard already powers crypto cards like CoinJar's U.K. debit card, piloting crypto payment settlement.
- Mastercard needs to ramp up support for cryptos which will likely be the primary medium of exchange in the metaverse.
- Crypto lender Nexo launched a "crypto-backed" payment card in collaboration with Mastercard.
- Initially available in selected European countries, the card allows users to spend without selling their digital assets, used as collateral to back the credit granted.
- The card is linked to a Nexo-provided, crypto-backed credit line allowing investors to spend up to 90% of the fiat value of their crypto assets.
- There are no restrictions on how much a customer can spend or withdraw from the open credit line, and interest is only paid on the amount of credit used.
- Price Action: MA shares traded higher by 2.63% at $354.89 on the last check Wednesday.
