MrBeast's Beast Industries files trademarks for financial and banking services
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Beast Holdings filed US trademark applications for MRBEAST FINANCIAL and BEAST FINANCIAL, now cleared for registration.
The YouTube star's $5 billion company is pushing beyond videos into finance.
Background
Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast, is YouTube's biggest creator and majority owner of Beast Industries, the North Carolina-based company that manages his ventures and is valued at around $5 billion with more than 1,000 employees. What began as gaming clips in 2012 grew into stunt videos, cash giveaways and philanthropy, then into brands like Feastables chocolate and the Beast Games show. The company has been diversifying into youth financial services, including its 2026 acquisition of the fintech app Step and a further $200 million investment from crypto firm Bitmine, and the trademark filings point further in that direction.
How it unfolded
- 2024Alpha Wave led a $300 million funding round valuing Beast Industries at around $5 billion, up from roughly $1.5 billion months earlier.
- Oct 13, 2025Beast Holdings filed two US trademark applications for MRBEAST FINANCIAL and BEAST FINANCIAL.
- 2026 -01Crypto investment firm Bitmine invested another $200 million in Beast Industries.
- 2026 -02Beast Industries acquired fintech app Step, gaining around 7 million users, mostly Gen Z.
- Aug 11, 2026The two trademark applications were published for opposition.
- Oct 6, 2026The applications received notices of allowance from the USPTO (the US Patent and Trademark Office).
Who’s saying what
- Analysts
- Investor Steven Bartlett said Donaldson is "no longer an influencer…you're a cofounder," describing creators like him as running companies that do M&A and resemble a Fortune 500 holding company — "They just bought a bank."
- Caution
- Coverage notes the expansion faces a test as corporate growth collides with retail reality, after complaints about MrBeast Burger food preparation and mouldy cheese reports in Lunchly packaging.
Still unverified
Neither trademark has been fully registered, and no cryptocurrency exchange launch has been confirmed; the filings do not confirm whether Beast Holdings has secured regulatory approvals for crypto exchange or banking services.