McDonald's Plans to Open Restaurants in the Metaverse

By Jenna Anderson

McDonald's is undeniably a household name in the world of fast food, delivering menu items that have delighted people for generations. According to a new series of trademarks filed by the company, it is about to bring its unique quirks into a whole new domain — the metaverse. As trademark attorney Josh Gerben tweeted on Wednesday, McDonald's filed ten trademarks, which would cover both McDonald's and McCafe, to the United States Patent and Trademark Office on February 4th. Among these trademarks was one for "virtual food and beverage products," and one for "operating a virtual restaurant online featuring home delivery." This seems to indicate that the company hopes to open some sort of virtual reality marketplace in the metaverse, possibly with real food attached. The trademarks filed also allowed for McDonald's to hold "on-line actual and virtual concerts" within its virtual space.

This comes just a few days after Panera Bread filed a trademark for "Paneraverse", which would allow the bakery chain to sell virtual items — including NFTs — inspired by its food.

"When you see this critical mass of large companies making this many new trademark filings, it's very clear this is coming," Gerben explained in a comment to Forbes. "I think you're going to see every brand that you can think of make these filings within the next 12 months. I don't think anyone wants to be the next Blockbuster and just completely ignore a new technology that's coming."

Last month, the official presence of McDonald's in the virtual space — or lack thereof — made headlines in a different way, after a Twitter exchange between the company and Tesla CEO Elon Musk sparked the creation of a number of unofficial "Grimacecoins", a cryptocurrency based on McDonald's mascot Grimace.

This Twitter exchange then began to spin out into reality, with a fan-made "Grimacecoin" beginning to surge as much as 285,641%, according to a new report from CoinDesk. Multiple other incarnations of Grimacecoin have also begun to be traded, with reports indicating that it has more than 1,000 holders, with a diluted market cap of more than $2 million. 

The only caveat is that these Grimacecoins are not affiliated with McDonald's in any official capacity, as the outlet confirmed to Fortune.

What do you think of McDonald's potentially entering the metaverse? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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