Fidelity Trademarks Hint at Big Banks Vying for Metaverse Customers

Fidelity wants to trademark metaverse services including mutual fund and retirement planning, alongside a potential NFT marketplace

article-image

PL Gould/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Boston finance giant Fidelity Investments has filed trademark applications hinting at a concerted effort to service customers in a crypto-powered metaverse.

Fidelity filed three patent applications last week related to marketing, placements, recruiting and referral services for investment and financial planning across the metaverse “and other virtual worlds.”

Provisions for a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace were also included in one of the patents, although not much detail was provided. Fidelity is one of the largest asset managers in the world, handling $3.6 trillion in discretionary assets as of Sept. 30.

Fidelity didn’t mention which metaverse it’s eyeing, nor did it specify whether it intends to create its own virtual world. Mike Kondoudis, a USPTO licensed trademark attorney, first shared Fidelity’s plans in a Monday tweet.

And while patent applications don’t automatically translate to new product offerings, Fidelity’s recent filings describe metaverse services for:

  • crypto trading, 
  • mutual fund and retirement investment, 
  • money management, 
  • charitable fund-raising services, 
  • life insurance and annuity underwriting, 
  • employer stock purchase plans, 
  • employee pension plans and 
  • frequent flyer award accounts.

There would also be investment-related classes, workshops, seminars and conferences in the metaverse. Fidelity didn’t return Blockworks’ request for comment by press time.

By filing a design patent, corporations in the US who plan to offer services in the metaverse are protected when it comes to their virtual product design. 

USPTO has previously refused trademark applications with a metaverse focus as they may have been too similar to ones that were previously registered.

Fidelity has competition in the metaverse

Fidelity hasn’t been shy about crypto of late. Its launch of an Ethereum index fund in October showed intent to broaden its digital asset scope despite a bearish market, so too did opening retail crypto trading accounts for bitcoin and ether in November.

Fidelity also deployed an “immersive educational metaverse experience” in Ethereum-centric virtual world Decentraland in April, a building complete with a dancefloor and rooftop garden.

But the firm will face stiff competition from major banks. JPMorgan in February launched a lounge promoting its permissioned blockchain network Onyx, also in Decentraland.

Union Bank of India debuted its own metaverse hangout in July, opting instead for rival platform The Sandbox. Singapore-based DBS then announced it would build out services from within The Sandbox in September.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
  • Supply Shock: Tracking Bitcoin’s rise from internet plaything worth less than a penny to global phenomenon disrupting money as we know it.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research

article-image

Top Committee Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren in her opening statement accused Atkins of “helping billionaire CEOs like Sam Bankman-Fried”

article-image

Introducing garbled circuits for enhanced privacy and regulatory compliance

article-image

Ross Ulbricht was a freedom maximalist building freedom tech, powered by Bitcoin

article-image

Solana validators can reap benefits including payments, votes and community clout

article-image

Sponsored

WalletConnect is cementing itself as the essential connectivity layer, ensuring wallets remain the entry point for billions of users

article-image

According to a legal filing, Galaxy Digital helped boost the price of LUNA while quietly selling its tokens