Western Union plans to launch a crypto exchange and its own cryptocurrency

Western Union, an international urgent money transfer system, has filed an application for a cryptocurrency-related trademark with the US Patent and Trademark Office. This was announced by trademark commissioner Mike Kondoudis. The applications filed by Western Union mean that the company intends to launch its own virtual currency exchange and cryptocurrency token. The financial giant also plans to expand its activities in the field of digital asset management and administration.

#WesternUnion has filed 3 trademark applications claiming plans for
▶️ Financial Banking Insurance
▶️ Virtual currency exchange transfer
▶️ Commodity and Crypto trading brokerage
▶️ Issuing tokens of value
…and much more#Web3 #Metaverse #Cryptocurrency #NFT #DeFi pic.twitter.com/YvKysvj3mq

— Mike Kondoudis (@KondoudisLaw) October 25, 2022

Interestingly, prior to the high-profile announcement, Western Union was relatively cautious about implementing blockchain technologies in its services. Back in December 2018, the former president of Western Union Global Money Transfer, Odilon Almeida, said that adding cryptocurrencies as an option for customers was not the right time, as digital assets had not yet gained widespread global recognition. Almeida noted: «Cryptocurrency may become another option for exchanging assets between people and countries. If that happens, we will be ready to launch.»

It seems that after four years, Western Union has realized the value of cryptocurrencies and how competition in the international money transfer space is increasing, and this is what finally pushed the money services giant to enter the cryptocurrency markets.

It is worth noting that this is not the first time that influential financial companies biased towards cryptocurrencies are finally starting to explore a new industry. Yesterday, we reported that bitcoin opponent Warren Buffett became an investor to create a new Nucoin token on the Polygon blockchain. Experts suggest that this is a way for the owner of Berkshire Hathaway to indirectly support the cryptocurrency industry without stopping his harsh criticism of the flagship cryptocurrency.