Metaverse news, Walmart?

Investment Analysis Clubs Macro Economic Trends and Risks
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Walmart is quietly preparing to enter the metaverse
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/16/walmart-is-quietly-preparing…

Walmart appears to be venturing into the metaverse with plans to create its own cryptocurrency and collection of NFTs.

Walmart is creating its own NFTs?

The METAR connection? Sears used to be “where America shops” but, now Walmart owns that title? Walmart is the behemoth that changed America’s retail, and destroyed “mom & pop” stores.

Walmart is developing its own cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency still carries reputational baggage: criminals use it, bypass SWIFT, easy to hack and no protections, etc.
And LOTS of folks are poo-pooing cryptocurrencies… but some countries**, big banks, and big business are moving forward with crypto plans.
Crypto sure seems to be marching forward, whether the poo-pooers want it or not.

Back to NFTs.
The article says that since FB announced its name change to META, many other companies are scrambling to be relevant in the virtual space.

It mentions companies that are creating, and patenting/trademarking NFTs of their own products*.
Nike
GAP
Under Armour
Adidas
Urban Outfitters
Ralph Lauren
Abercrombie & Fitch

NFTs seem to be EASY to create and trademark?

:mask:
ralph

*this reminds me of back in the late 90s and early 2000s, the “craze” of businesses and entities staking claim to domain names, or paying big bucks to buy the domain name.

** these include-
countries: El Salvador, China
Banks:

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NFTs seem to be EASY to create and trademark?

Nike
GAP
Under Armour
Adidas
Urban Outfitters
Ralph Lauren
Abercrombie & Fitch

Ralph,

Separately all of those companies already have their trademarks.

The NFT’s will be created for hire by top graphic artists. This can fly. Depending on the expense to return ratio. All of the marketing will be hit or miss.

There is a reason crypto aligns with the USD as money. The USD is most commonly found in a ledger with the US treasury, the FED and the banks. Crypto Currencies using the blockchain have their own ledger.

The IRS sees them as an asset which lowers the tax rate for the people making a lot of money from this.

Creators of NFTs are taxed at earned income rates. But the traders of NFTs are taxed on capital gains and losses.