Walmart Could Step Into The Metaverse With Its Own Cryptocurrency, NFTs

Walmart recently filed patents covering a slew of digital currencies, virtual goods, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), potentially signaling its intentions of stepping into the metaverse.

According to Interesting Engineering, the big-box retailer could soon be creating and selling a wide variety of digital goods, including home decor, sporting goods, personal care products, pet products, and even electronics.

Seven separate patent applications were filed by the firm on December 30, 2021. 

“We are testing new ideas all the time. Some ideas become products or services that make it to customers. And some we test, iterate, and learn from,” Walmart told CNBC, still keeping any details of a virtual endeavor close to the vest.

Trademark attorney Josh Gerben, who looked over the applications, told the publication that Walmart’s filings were “super intense.” 

“There’s a lot of language in these, which shows that there’s a lot of planning going on behind the scenes about how they’re going to address cryptocurrency, how they’re going to address the metaverse and the virtual world,” he explained.

Seeing how other brands such as The Associated Press, Selfridges, and even Melania Trump are entering the metaverse with NFTs and other offerings, it’s no surprise Walmart wants to cash in on the future, too.

[via Interesting Engineering and CNBC, cover image via Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com]