Meta trademarks for “Meta Pay” hint at plans for a crypto payments platform

In the United States, Meta, previously Facebook, has filed five trademark applications for what looks to be a new digital platform called Meta Pay.

Meta Pay was defined in the trademark applications submitted on May 13 as an,

“online social investment network in the nature of an online social networking services in the field of investments”

Additional descriptions included “online social networking service for investors allowing financial trades and exchange of digital currency, virtual currency, cryptocurrency,” and “providing a website featuring information on the development of privacy, security, blockchain and distributed ledger technologies, and data governance law; regulatory compliance consultancy in the field of digital currency,”.

According to the trademark petition, Meta Pay might provide digital asset financing and investing services in addition to payment and trading.

Meta’s newest crypto-related move comes after the company revealed intentions to begin testing NFTs on Instagram earlier this month.

Meta had previously submitted eight trademark applications for its logo, claiming the move was part of the company’s shift to the digital economy. These initiatives have gotten off to a shaky start, with the corporation stating that its metaverse-focused arm, Reality Labs lost over $10 billion last year.

Diem, the company’s stablecoin concept, failed to gain traction because of intense criticism from authorities worldwide. The assets from the project were ultimately sold to Silvergate, a bank located in the United States.

In December 2021, the social media giant paid $60 million for the MetaPay.com domain name from the South Dakota-based MetaBank.