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Mastercard is a multinational American financial services company that primarily provides customers with debit, credit, and prepaid cards worldwide. It is valued at around US$ 340 billion and is one of the world's four largest credit card networks. As other key companies in this space, such as American Express, JP Morgan, and Visa, made NFT and metaverse-related filings in February and March 2022, Mastercard is also planning to venture into the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the metaverse.
In April 2022, Mastercard submitted more than a dozen NFT patents and trademarks relating to metaverse at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). These applications include various financial products ranging from downloadable music files backed by NFTs to an NFT marketplace. The trademark applications include "Providing an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of digital goods and media backed by NFTs." In addition, another application is "Payment processing services such as virtual credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, and prepaid cards transaction services in metaverse; providing financial information in the metaverse or other virtual worlds." Furthermore, Mastercard protects its name, tagline, and logo when using events and performances such as sports, cultural, financial education seminars and programs in NFT, finance, and cryptocurrency in the metaverse.
Part of the patent filings suggests plans for "a virtual community for digital assets" related to the NFT marketplace. These filings help use the Mastercard cards in NFT marketplaces at any rate. Mastercard has filed these applications on a 1b basis that represents the company could apply for the trademarks in the future with no obligation rather than getting started immediately. According to Cointelegraph, the company recruited 500 new employees in February 2022 to work on Mastercard's adoption of cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and blockchain technology.
Earlier this year, Mastercard partnered with Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange, to provide easy NFT purchases to consumers. Mastercard will act as the official payments processor for the Coinbase NFT marketplace after this partnership. Nowadays, users are more inclined to try their luck in the NFT space; however, creating a crypto wallet, buying the particular crypto, and purchasing can be unwelcoming. This partnership of Mastercard with Coinbase enables a broader group of consumers to purchase NFTs by bridging the relationship between the creators and customers. It removes buyers' need to create crypto to purchase the latest NFTs. Expanding the audience in the NFT space is fuelling the market revenue growth of NFTs and supports the next evolution of digital commerce.
Blockchain technology and digital assets are not new to Mastercard, and the company is one of the biggest forces behind bitcoin (BTC). Mastercard has been behind Blockstream through the Digital Currency Group, with investments in major companies including Coinbase, Circle, Ripple, CoinDesk, Kraken to Lightning Labs, and Grayscale. Mastercard is actively involved in partnerships and new product offerings to deliver unique experiences to its customers and cardholders.
To know more and gain a deeper understanding of the NFT market in the United States, click here.
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