Disney Pushes Further Into Crypto, DeFi, NFTs With Recent Job Post

Disney is diving deeper into NFTs and the metaverse.

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

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

Additionally, the principal counsel will “provide day-to-day legal advice to Disney legal and business teams on NFT and cryptocurrency related matters and issues,” and “provide thought leadership and strategic direction on 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 company CEO Bob Chapek described the metaverse as “the next great storytelling frontier.” 

After experimenting with NFTs in 2021, Disney in February tapped tech executive Mike White as Senior Vice President of Next Generation Storytelling and Consumer Experiences, a division that will purportedly lead Disney’s efforts in the metaverse. 

Since then, the company has onboarded a number of NFT specialists, and even tapped multiple crypto companies for its accelerator program,but specific details about Disney’s Web3 ambitions have remained elusive. 

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

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

The question of what digital assets governmental bodies consider to be securities, and thus subject to more intensive scrutiny and regulation, has come to a head in recent weeks. 

Last week, the SEC in the U.S. claimed in a lawsuit that the entire Ethereum ecosystem should be considered an American-based securities exchange. Days later, a leaked final draft of the European Union’s landmark MiCA crypto regulation indicated that Europe’s governing body could soon regulate blue-chip NFT collections like Bored Ape Yacht Club and Cryptopunks as securities.