On February 10, 2022, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to provide an online marketplace for various digital goods including non-fungible tokens (NFT), cryptocurrencies, digital media and artwork.

This is the first major sign that Wall Street Exchanges want to compete in capturing market share for online marketplace for buyers, sellers, and traders of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Perhaps the NYSE seems that NFTs will trade with higher volatility and velocity as market participants enter the market.

OpenSea and Rabiable both provide a peer-to-peer web3 service that helps users discover and directly interact with each other and NFTs available on public blockchains. Neither platform provides custody nor control over the NFTs or blockchains you are interacting with and they do not execute or effectuate purchases, transfers, or sales of NFTs. This will be a interesting challenge for the NYSE to solve, as it’s enters the competition for a position in NFT marketplaces.

In 2021, the NYSE enter the NFT scene by minting its first set of NFTs. As a commemoration to staple Initial Public offerings in the tech sector. At the time, the exchange said it wasn’t selling the NFTs, only minting them, apparently for commemorative purposes.