PayPal to conquer the crypto world

PayPal and Western Union almost simultaneously officially open up to crypto services by filing a series of trademarks.

As reflected in Chainalysis’ annual report on the prevalence and use in the world of digital and related currencies, the crypto world is growing steadily.

The opportunity offered by an increasing number of brands with respect to transacting in Bitcoin and the most commonly used cryptocurrencies is paving the way for a mass adoption that is as desirable as it is functional for this world.

Sports and the social world (above all Twitter, Instagram and various Metaverse projects such as The Nemesis or Meta) are increasingly permeated by sponsors inherent in cryptocurrencies or at least the possibility of making payments with these cones.

The ever-increasing prevalence and functionality given the simplicity, speed and security of transactions means that more and more people are relating to digital currencies and choosing them for their payments and in rare cases (rare for now) as a means of being remunerated for work performance.

Mass adoption, which in truth is still in its infancy and not yet in full swing, is not only attracting the attention of brands but also of the most famous payment service hubs such as PayPal and Western Union Money Transfer. 

PayPal and the relationship with the crypto world

The US online payment giant recently filed three new applications for brand registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and each concerns a different type of service.

An additional application for brand registration concerns a modern restyling of the logo and brand that the payments giant wants to adopt starting in 2024 perhaps in conjunction with the launch of new services offered concerning crypto.

On Monday, a tweet by Kondoudis, a lawyer specializing in USPTO-licensed trademarks, shed some light on the case:

“Paypal has filed trademark applications for Paypal and its ‘overlapping Ps’ logo. The apps claim plans for exchanging, trading, and processing transfers of blockchain + digital assets, crypto + digital + virtual currencies … and more.”

Branding concerns:

“Downloadable software for sending, receiving, accepting, buying, selling, storing, transmitting, trading and exchanging digital currency, virtual currency, cryptocurrency, stablecoin, digital assets and blockchain, digitized assets, digital tokens, cryptographic tokens and utility tokens.”

Already today, PayPal gives citizens of the United States of America except for the Hawaiian archipelago the ability to pay or collect using cryptocurrencies.

The cryptocurrencies which PayPal allows using to date for its services on US soil are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash.

Whereas until now it had been possible to use crypto in the US only and only within the PayPal circuit, to date an opening has made the hub decidedly more crypto-friendly.

The company now allows cryptocurrencies to be transferred to other wallets.

Western Union Money Transfer

Western Union Money Transfer yesterday proceeded to file three applications in the wake of what PayPal did and for the same purposes.

Kondoudis reports:

“Western Union filed 3 trademark applications claiming financial + banking + insurance plans, virtual currency exchange + transfer, commodity and cryptocurrency trading + brokerage, issuing of value tokens … and much more.”

The trend of companies getting organized, or rather reorganized, to prepare their production and service machinery for the world to come knows no end.

Modernization necessarily comes through rebranding and filing a series of trademarks that while claiming the companies’ history are a clear signal of openness to cryptocurrencies.

The USPTO is inundated with applications to file even well-known trademarks such as the wealthy world of Formula 1, which has filed as many as eight applications to register new brands not only related to the crypto world but also to some products and the fantastic world of the metaverse with an RV and an AR championship ready to launch.

Other brands following the thread of filings to reposition themselves in the market also include Ford, which delivered 19 brand applications in September, eBay with two registrations in June, Meta, which for obvious reasons has been beating the drum with five applications since May already, and Mastercard, which filed 15 brand applications aligning itself with departmental colleagues PayPal and Western Union Money Transfer.