The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) reportedly plans to launch a marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), according to a recent filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. NYSE’s Foray Into the Metaverse Realm In its filing dated February 10, the world’s largest stock exchange by market cap, NYSE applied for trademarks for several crypto-based products including software for crypto wallets and an online marketplace for “downloadable digital goods authenticated by non-fungible tokens.” Other possibilities listed in the wide-ranging prospectus include software for virtual and augmented reality. NYSE also gave a detailed description to enable financial transactions in cryptocurrencies, digital tokens, crypto tokens, and utility tokens. The exchange further specified that it has no immediate plans to launch cryptocurrency or NFT trading but it regularly considers new products and their impact on its trademarks and protects its intellectual property rights accordingly. This isn’t NYSE’s first foray into the NFT market. The stock exchange in April last year minted six commemorative NFTs of several companies that went public on the exchange including Spotify, DoorDash, and Roblox. The NFTs were not actually minted for sale but were gifted to the respective companies by the exchange. Major Brands Rush Towards Metaverse Future The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) follows several other public companies that have filed trademark ap...
