YouTube star MrBeast files trademark for banking and crypto services app

The world’s most-followed YouTuber, MrBeast, filed a trademark application for a banking platform called MrBeast Financial, dated October 13, and submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) under his company, Beast Holdings LLC. 

According to the application seen by Cryptopolitan, MrBeast Financial is a mobile application with cryptocurrency, investment banking, and other financial services, also including what appears to be a credit card to be launched later on.

Mr Beast trademark filing mulls digital banking ambitions

The USPTO application lists MrBeast Financial among several Jimmy Donaldson’s corporate trademarks, which include Beast Financial, Beast Mode, Beast Foods, and The Viral Company. 

One of his entities, Beast Industries, has pitched investors on products like credit cards, personal loans, and cryptocurrency services, Business Insider reported in March.

The business proposal also mentioned a creator-focused platform that would help digital influencers develop sustainable careers, similar to MrBeast’s own experience of scaling his YouTube success into a global business.

If approved, MrBeast Financial could become the first influencer-led entry into mainstream banking. Based on USPTO data, the average time for a new trademark application to reach its first examination is about 5.6 months, with a target of 6.7 months. 

The full process, including registration or potential abandonment, takes 11.7 to 13 months.

That means MrBeast Financial may not see an official ruling until late 2025, where the trademark will undergo a review process to determine if it meets the agency’s standards for registration, including distinctiveness and potential conflicts with existing marks.

MrBeast to expand his influence beyond YouTube

27-year-old Donaldson is the world’s most-subscribed YouTuber, commanding more than 446 million followers in his channels, at the time of this publication. He built his online empire by participating in “crazy” challenges, giveaways, and philanthropy-driven videos, like “I Paid a Real Assassin to Try to Kill Me” and “$456,000 Squid Game in Real Life!” 

Beyond YouTube, Donaldson founded Feastables, a chocolate and snack company, and Beast Burgers, a virtual fast food chain that operated through delivery apps before being shut down in the US after facing several lawsuits over product quality. 

He opened another project dubbed Lunchly, which consumers have admitted is a healthier take on Lunchables-style meals.

Donaldson uses his online influence to create consumer-facing brands beyond content creation. However, some of MrBeast’s experiments, like the co-founded ViewStats, a YouTube analytics platform that tracks creator performance and audience engagement, have fallen flat on their face. 

Earlier this year, the platform introduced an AI-powered thumbnail generator designed to help creators produce thumbnails more efficiently. The launch was met with backlash from digital artists who argued the tool threatened their livelihoods, and prompted Donaldson to take it down.

“Hey! Thanks for all your feedback on the ViewStats AI thumbnail tool. We pulled it and added a funnel for creators to find real thumbnail artists to commission,” MrBeast said, announcing the ViewStats’ closure on X.

Taking a chance at selling books

Donaldson has also set his eyes into publishing, revealing back in May that he had partnered with best-selling author James Patterson to co-write a novel set for release in 2026 under HarperCollins.

HarperCollins CEO Brian Murray told the New York Times that Donaldson is a “smart operator” who understands how to gain the most attention in a crowded media landscape, a skill he could take into any business he touches.

“One of the challenges we have in publishing is there’s so much noise out there in the media and entertainment landscape, and trying to break through with books can be difficult,” Murray reckoned.

According to The New York Times, the book will narrate MrBeast’s most viral competitions, featuring characters who compete for large sums of money. Donaldson got into trouble for holding the contests in the form of an ongoing lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in September last year. 

MrBeast and Amazon were accused of mistreating contestants during the production of “Beast Games,” filed on behalf of five unnamed participants from the reality competition show, which was commissioned by Prime Video. The plaintiffs claim they were subjected to “chronic mistreatment,” sexual harassment, and other forms of neglect while filming.

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