NYSE trademark application spotlights marketplace for NFTs

The New York Stock Exchange filed for a trademark focused on virtual goods and NFTs last week, according to a recent trademark application. 

The filing isn’t the exchange’s first distinct move into this particular area. NYSE minted its first NFTs last year, to celebrate the “First Trades of these notable listings: Spotify, which executed the first-ever Direct Listing, Snowflake, Unity, DoorDash, Roblox and Cooping, the largest U.S. IPO so far this year,” according to their website.

Yet the trademark application filing, dated February 10, is notable as one component refers to an “online marketplace” for NFTs and virtual goods.

Here’s the section in full:

“Provision of an online marketplace for buyers, sellers, and traders of downloadable digital goods authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs); provision of an online marketplace for buyers, sellers and traders of virtual and digital assets, artwork, collectibles, and non-fungible tokens; online marketplace services, namely, providing an online marketplace for buyers, sellers and traders of digital currency, virtual currency, cryptocurrency, digital tokens, crypto tokens and utility tokens; providing a website featuring an online marketplace for buying, selling and trading virtual goods with other users; develop and design virtual retail stores, virtual stores, and virtual showrooms for others provision of an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of downloadable digital goods authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs); provision of an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of downloadable digital art images authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs).”

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.

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.”