The New York Stock Exchange Files Patent for NFT Marketplace

NYSE’s history with NFTs

Over the past year, we’ve observed worlds collide with the mainstream adoption of NFTs.  From pro sports welcoming them with open arms to video games launching in-game items as NFTs, the status quo web 2 world is quickly being invaded by web 3 in the form of .jpegs.  However, a major component has thus far been absent – the white whale of the traditional world: stocks.

There have been rumors in the past of more prototypical exchanges experimenting with running the exchange on the Ethereum blockchain, but so far nothing has made it to market.  The biggest player in the traditional stock exchange market is a company called the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).  NYSE went beyond the original rumors by minting and selling 6 NFTs related to the sale of a few popular companies' first public stocks (their site features companies like Spotify, DoorDash, and Unity).

NY(NFT)E?

Apparently the NYSE enjoyed the process of minting NFTs as much as the crypto community does, because they’ve just filed a patent for an NFT exchange. More specifically, this exchange will comprise metaverse items and digital currencies.  The patent includes “provision of an online marketplace for buyers, sellers, and traders of downloadable digital goods authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs).”  The NYSE has also mentioned the “issuance of digital tokens” and “non-fungible tokens of value,” suggesting that it may be considering minting a token alongside its competitor OpenSea.

The NYSE is the largest traditional stock exchange in the world, clocking in at a full market cap of over $27 Trillion.  With the patent for a marketplace, NYSE mentioned the use of digital showrooms and virtual stores, indicating this may be a play to build a metaverse.

NYSE is entering a very crowded market in terms of NFT marketplaces, with OpenSea being dominant, and everyone from FTX to Shopify launching their own competitors.