The American company Walmart, the largest supermarket chain in the world, has revealed its interest in creating a cryptocurrency and selling virtual goods in several trademark applications recently submitted to the Patent Office, CNBC reported.

Walmart delivered almost a dozen petitions to the regulator at the end of December in which it suggests its intention to launch a virtual currency and a collection of NFT (non-fungible token) assets, in addition to producing and selling virtual goods such as household appliances , clothing, toys or personal care products.

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— Brett Dalbey Mon May 10 20:12:28 +0000 2021

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Walmart would thus join a growing list of companies preparing to operate in the metaverse -an immersive virtual reality-, including Facebook, which has changed its name to Meta for that reason; retailers in the fashion sector such as Nike or GAP, or the entertainment giant Disney.

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The supermarket chain avoided commenting on that possibility in a statement to the media, in which it said it is always "exploring how emerging technologies can shape future shopping experiences" and stressed that it makes brand requests "routinely ” to continue with his “innovation”.

Walmart is the largest private sector employer in the US and since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic it has seen its e-commerce business grow strongly, which according to its latest quarterly results -last November- has increased its sales in the country by 87% compared to two years ago.