BYD Co (OTC:BYDDY), backed by veteran investor Warren Buffett, has filed for the Metaverse trademark, cnEVpost reported on Monday.

What Happened: The Shenzhen, China-headquartered BYD has applied for the "BYD Metaverse" close on the heels of local rivals such as Nio Inc (NYSE:NIO), Xpeng Inc (NYSE XPEV) and Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI) filing for their own multiple Metaverse trademarks. 

BYD applied for the trademark on Dec. 27, 2021, and is awaiting confirmation.

Why It Matters: Metaverse is drawing increased attention, especially with tech giant Facebook’s recent name change to Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:FB) in a bid to highlight its focus on metaverse.

See Also: How To Invest In The Metaverse

The term metaverse was coined in the 1992 science fiction novel "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson. The term represents a meeting of the physical world with augmented and virtual reality. 
The popularity of Metaverse as a concept comes in the aftermath of the rise of non fungible tokens (NFTs) and Web 3.0, enabled by blockchain platforms such as Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH).

Buffett, who backs BYD, has been an outspoken critic of cryptocurrencies, over the years, once calling Bitcoin (CRYTPO: BTC) “probably rat poison squared.”

Price Action: BYD shares closed 4.3% lower at $58.4 a share on Friday.