Disney pushes further into Crypto, DeFi, NFTs with recent job posting

Disney dives deeper into NFTs and the metaverse.

The entertainment giant is looking to hire a general counsel specializing in NFTs, metaverse, blockchain technologies and decentralized finance to guide the company through what appears to be its upcoming – and aggressive – push into Web3.

A Friday job advertisement for the position explains that the attorney will primarily provide “legal advice and support for global NFT products” created in partnership with Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, as well as Disney Parks, Experience and Products.

In addition, the general counsel will “provide day-to-day legal advice to Disney’s legal and business teams on NFT and cryptocurrency-related matters and issues,” and “provide thought leadership and strategic direction for products involving digital currency and blockchain technology.”

Such details indicate that Disney is doubling down on its commitment to a strong Web3 presence, months after the company’s CEO Bob Chapek described the metaverse as “the next great storytelling frontier”.

After experimenting with NFTs in 2021Disney in February contacted chief technology officer Mike White as Senior Vice President of Next Generation Storytelling and Consumer Experiences, a department that will reportedly lead Disney’s efforts in the metaverse.

Since then, the company has come on board a number of NFT specialistsEven tapped several crypto companies for the accelerator program, but specific details about Disney’s Web3 ambitions have remained elusive.

Friday’s key advisory reveals that the company may be looking to experiment not only with NFTs and metaversal ecosystems, but also with digital currency and decentralized financial mechanisms. The job description indicates that these innovations will likely be developed and rolled out “on an accelerated and aggressive timeline.”

The appointment also signals Disney’s sensitivity to the growing legal and regulatory pressures currently confronting crypto and the NFT square. Disney’s NFT legal czar will specifically focus, according to the job posting, on evaluating “securities law issues” related to the “promotion and sale of NFTs.”

The question of which digital assets state bodies consider to be securities, and thus subject to more intensive scrutiny and regulation, has come to the fore in recent weeks.

Last week, the SEC in the United States claimed in a lawsuit that the entire Ethereum ecosystem should be considered a US-based stock exchange. Days later, a leaked final draft of the EU’s landmark MiCA crypto regulation indicated that Europe’s governing body may soon regulate blue-chip NFT collections such as Bored Ape Yacht Club and Cryptopunks as securities.