The Spanish retail giant El Corte Inglés has registered the business name Bitcor, in an indication that it could be prepared to take a further step into the world of crypto-related business.
Per El Pais, the firm has registered the brand name with the European Union Intellectual Property Office. The report added that the firm had also registered the brand name Bitcor El Corte Inglés on March 23. The office, it claimed, is currently in the process of considering “possible oppositions,” to the registrations, although “to date, none have been put forward.”
The company has fast-tracked its applications, and unless last-minute obstacles appear, the brands will be formally registered on June 28.
The application, El Pais reported, detailed that the Bitcor brand will provide “financial services, financial transactions related to currency exchange and currency trading.”
The media outlet added that “together with the Bitcor name,” this “makes its connection with the world of [crypto] clear.”
It also quoted “sources close to El Corte Inglés” as confirming the brands will have a crypto bent although they explained that the firm had “no imminent plan on the table to launch a cryptocurrency or any service related to this activity.”
The company refused to comment on the matter when asked by El Pais. Our has also submitted a request for comment.
However, El Pais’ sources also confirmed the company may have made a “preventive registry,” hoping to restrict other companies from using before it had made up its mind about taking the crypto plunge.
Back in 2019, the firm announced that it would begin using blockchain-powered solutions to track its renewable energy usage, while in 2018, the retailer was reportedly held talks with Eurocoinpay, a Spanish crypto pay platform based in León, about possible crypto pay-related business.
But El Corte Inglés’ latest move is by far its most bullish to date, even if has yet to come to fruition: The firm’s popular Bricor brand retails a range of DIY and home improvement equipment and materials. The company also operates a number of other business arms, all of which end in the -cor suffix, such as the Supercor and Hipercor supermarket outlets.
A Bitcor brand could potentially seek to retail crypto, particularly given the success of other high-street crypto retailers. These include Bitbase, which now has physical outlets in most of Spain’s biggest cities, with multiple outlets now operating in cities such as Barcelona and Madrid.
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