The world’s largest stock exchange is coming to the metaverse. On February 10, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) filed a trademark application to register the name “NYSE” for a variety of crypto products, including NFTs
The New York Stock Exchange plans to join the crypto market with a view to offer trading in NFTs and cryptocurrencies, just as it does with stocks.
An application filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office on February 10 shows the NYSE wants to be a marketplace for both forms of popular digital asset.
In a filing by trademark attorney Michael Geller, the NYSE last week applied for trademarks to several crypto-based products including downloadable virtual reality, software for crypto wallets and storage, and an online marketplace for “downloadable digital goods authenticated by non-fungible tokens.”
NFTs, also called modern-day collectibles, are digital assets that link ownership to unique physical or virtual items like works of art, music, or videos.
Late last week, the New York Stock Exchange filed a trademark application that suggests new endeavors in NFTs and the Metaverse.
According to the trademark application, the NYSE aims to provide an online market place for buyers, sellers, and traders of:
Downloadable digital goods authenticated by NFTs;
Virtual and digital assets, artwork, collectibles, and NFTs;
Digital currency, virtual currency, cryptocurrency, digital tokens, crypto tokens, and utility tokens.
Downloadable digital art images authenticated by NFTs.
Additionally, the application requests for
Developing and designing virtual retail stores, virtual stores, and virtual showrooms.
With regulatory scrutiny on the rise, the New York Stock Exchange’s expansion into NFTs and the Metaverse will be an interesting one to watch.
To be sure, the trademark application, in isolation, doesn’t mean that NYSE is about to jump into the NFT trading game. Such an application may simply represent NYSE’s interest in staking out intellectual property related to areas of interest in the market today. With regulatory scrutiny on the rise, the New York Stock Exchange’s expansion into NFTs and the Metaverse will be an interesting one to watch.
Still, NYSE has previously hinted at a longer-term interest in NFTs.
According to the company’s website that explains their first minted NFTs, “we are starting with these six, but we know there will be many more NYSE NFTs to come as we continue to welcome new, innovative companies to our community.”
The exchange last year minted its first NFTs, memorializing noteworthy initial public offerings including that of Spotify Technology SA, Snowflake Inc., Unity Software Inc. and Roblox Corp.
