Walmart Inc., a department store giant based in the United States, is getting ready to explore the crypto world and present NFT or non-fungible tokens. What’s behind this move by Walmart NFT and crypto? Check out the review here.
On Monday, January 17th, 2022, a CNBC reported that they were aware of the department store company filing a number of trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office or USPTO in late December.
This UPSTO submission is made in order to sell virtual goods. In another submission, they also stated that they would provide their own cryptocurrency and NFT.
Walmart Explores the Crypto World—Walmart NFT
Referring to the submission, America’s largest private company seems to be also preparing with its “metaverse-ready”, namely by trying to obtain trademark protection for a number of virtual goods, ranging from electronics, toys, sports equipment, personal care products, decorations, to skin care products.
According to the founder of Gerben Law Firm, Josh Gerben, Walmart is already doing a lot of work when it comes to cryptocurrencies. He said, “There’s a lot of language in this, which suggests that there’s a lot of planning going on behind the scenes about how they’re going to handle cryptocurrencies, how they’re going to handle the metaverse and virtual world that seems to be coming or it’s already here.”
Walmart itself, in October 2021 was known to start hosting bitcoin ATMs in a number of its stores in the United States. This came after the Bentonville-based retail giant was accidentally involved in a cryptocurrency pump-and-dump scheme in September last year.
In a U.Today report, scammers published a fake press release regarding Walmart accepting litecoin. No doubt, it makes the price of O.G. altcoins surged before Walmart finally debunked the false announcement. However, because of this, Walmart is considered to have started a pilot program, where customers can buy bitcoins at Coinstar kiosks in a number of its stores.
As for last August, this retail corporation has also advertised job vacancies for digital currency development positions and a product roadmap that can identify crypto-related investments and partnerships. In this case, it is known that Walmart has prepared its subsidiary, Connect, which will later conduct virtual currency exchange and advertising.
This application also includes a trademark in order to apply the Walmart name and fireworks logo to virtual health and education services and a technology that combines virtual objects, both two-dimensional and three-dimensional, by projecting them into a real environment, known as Augmented Reality (AR).
A Walmart representative, via email, stated, “Walmart continues to explore how emerging technologies can shape the shopping experience of tomorrow. We routinely file trademark applications as part of the innovation process.”
Meanwhile, in early December, Brett Biggs as Walmart’s Chief Financial Officer said that he was open to allowing customers to pay with cryptocurrencies—if they asked for it. However, he added, this retail corporation will not rush to make a decision.
To note, based on the results of a survey published by Morning Consult, Walmart customers are more likely to hold Bitcoin than the average American.
Walmart NFT: Continuation of Previous Trends?
Although it is not unusual for Walmart to enter the world of crypto or NFT, it is considered a continuation of the previous trend. As is known, after the social media giant Facebook changed its name to Meta and gave a signal that they intend to encourage the metaverse, suddenly there was a surge in big brands to enter the space with cryptocurrency, NFT, to the metaverse.
The famous names on this list are Adidas, Nike, Gap, and so on. They have now started selling NFT and signaled an intention to create a virtual space. Although Walmart doesn’t want to be left behind in following this trend, they don’t seem to be in too much of a rush to join.
The applications for launching NFT up to opening virtual stores have previously been submitted by world-renowned retailers and trademarks. According to a report by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, there were at least 7 applications filed by well-known retailers and trademarks at the end of last year.
Among the well-known brands are Nike, GAP, Urban Outfitters, Ralph Lauren, and Abercrombie & Fitch. In this case, Nike is known to have filed many trademark applications in early November. It previewed their plans to sell virtual branded shoes and clothing.
Bitcoin Price Update
Isn’t it interesting to hear about the possibilities of Walmart NFT and the foray of this retail giant into the world of crypto assets?
However, apart from the news and the possibility of this happening, if you want to know the latest price of Bitcoin (BTC/IDR), you can check it through the Indodax market.
The last Bitcoin price on Wednesday (19/1/2022) on the Indodax market was IDR 603,000,000.
Please click the following link (https://indodax.com/market/BTCIDR) to find out the latest Bitcoin prices and price updates in the last 24 hours.
