Various media outlets report that Meta has applied for five trademarks under the brand name “Meta pay.” According to the filing, Meta pay is an online social investment network that allows users to seamlessly complete their crypto and blockchain-related transactions.
Platforms can also validate their authenticity and identity (where necessary) using the platform’s tools. Popular trademark legal counsel, Josh Gerben, confirmed the news to be true via a tweet.
Meta Platforms Inc. (i.e. Facebook) has filed 5 new trademark applications for:
"META PAY"
The filings indicate that @Meta plans to launch a payment platform called "META PAY" for users to exchange old-fashioned regular money and cryptocurrencies.#Meta $FB#Metaverse pic.twitter.com/W2ObxgAWfl
— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) May 18, 2022
While Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has expressed interest in launching Metaverse-related projects, the Meta pay filing doesn’t include Metaverse-related projects. Rather, the filings were mainly centered around blockchain and crypto payment services. Last December, Zuckerberg and the Meta team purchased the Metapay.com domain name for nearly $60M.
Other Important Details About The Meta Pay Filings
Part of the description for the Meta pay filing states that it will be an app anyone can download from their device’s play store and is categorized as an eCom app. Hence, the app can serve other purposes apart from being a crypto wallet.
It can also be used to order and pay for goods and services. Part of the details for the app claims that Meta pay can serve as a crypto exchange and allow users to purchase any digital assets of their choice.
Meta continues to explore the digital asset space as the sector continues to grow at an alarming rate. As widely reported in various media, Meta filed eight trademark applications related to blockchain and Metaverse two months ago.
Meta Isn’t Leaving The Real World
Earlier in the month, Zuckerberg revealed that he and his team are working on incorporating NFTs into Instagram profiles. Meta isn’t leaving the real world despite exploring the Metaverse and crypto space. Recently, it launched a new retail store in the San Francisco Bay area.
While commenting on the launch of the retail store, the new store’s CEO, Martin Gillard, stated that the primary objective of the store is to ensure that anyone can be related to Meta’s products and be at the forefront of their minds whenever they have anything to do with the Metaverse.
He further said, “we are not selling the Metaverse in this store. We only want anyone who walks into this store to have a deeper knowledge about our Metaverse-related products and have a real connection with these products.”
Despite all these efforts, Meta’s earnings report for Q1 2022 shows that Meta’s Metaverse subsidiary (reality labs) is performing poorly right now. Reality labs has gulped nearly $3B, according to the Q1 2022 report. Even shares of the Meta conglomerate are gradually losing value.
In an earnings call, Zuckerberg stated Meta would likely relax on long-term projects like Metaverse and ai-related projects. Many tech firms are making efforts to be the frontrunners of Metaverse-related projects/businesses. A recent Grand View research data estimated that the Metaverse would be a $678B market within the next decade.
James Thompson 
Michael Rafael