The Walt Disney Company posted a job listing on Friday for a principal counsel specializing in non-fungible tokens (NFT) and decentralized finance (DeFi), hinting at its broader Web3 expansion across the Disney ecosystem.
The full-time position, which operates within the legal department of the Walt Disney Company, calls for an experienced corporate attorney to “work on transactions involving emerging technologies, including NFTs, blockchain, metaverse and decentralized finance.” The position would provide guidance on “global NFT products” across the company’s business branches, including Disney Media and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, and ensure compliance with U.S. and international laws and regulations. Specifically, the position would “evaluate securities law issues in connection with the promotion and sale of NFTs.”
The listing also mentions vetting NFT projects, blockchain networks, third-party marketplaces and cloud providers, as well as providing legal guidance on digital currency and blockchain technology. The hire would collaborate with other legal and business teams, including product, engineering, tech and IP, and would “partner with business teams as they plan new global emerging technology projects, typically on an accelerated and aggressive timeline.”
Disney has in recent months accelerated its hiring of Web3-focused executives to integrate crypto elements into its many business branches. In February, it appointed media and tech strategist Mike White as senior vice president of next-generation storytelling and consumer experiences to lead its metaverse strategy. In a memo to staff obtained by Variety, CEO Bob Chapek wrote that White would be responsible for blending experiences in the “physical and digital worlds,” and called the metaverse “the next great storytelling frontier.”
On an earnings call around the same time, Chapek outlined the next five years for the company, saying that Disney considered its Web3 ambitions to be “less of a passive type experience where you just have playback” and “more of an interactive lean forward, actively engaged type of experience.”
In June, the company brought on former Apple gaming executive Mark Bozon as its vice president of next-generation storytelling, with Variety reporting that he would be responsible for executing plans across business areas like “gaming, film, TV, toys, parks and more.” Disney was quoted as saying that its metaverse strategy would span digital, physical and virtual experiences.
In July, Disney announced that its Accelerator program would be focused this year on “building the future of immersive experiences” including augmented reality, NFTs and artificial intelligence characters. Companies added to the Accelerator program this year include layer 2 blockchain network Polygon, Web3 social app FlickPlay, storytelling platform Lockerverse and more.
The pattern throughout is language stressing a merge of in-person and digital experiences, with blockchain at its core. The company has already begun toying around in Web3 by releasing NFTs, forming a long-term partnership with digital collectibles marketplace VeVe to offer a collection of “Golden Moments” featuring iconic characters across its Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and classic Disney brands.
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