THE New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) announced on Monday that it will launch “First Trade” non-fungible tokens (NFTs), a series of crypto collectibles, to commemorate the actual first transaction of six stocks on the public markets.

NFTs are a type of digital asset created to track ownership of a virtual item using blockchain technology.

NYSE President Stacey Cunningham wrote in an announcement, “At the NYSE we love to celebrate moments. It seems fitting to launch our own NYSE First Trade NFTs as a new, fun way to mark the moment a company joins the NYSE.”

During a company’s public debut the exchange processes over 350 billion order, quotes and trade messages across its markets on its busiest days, Cunningham said.

Each message is recorded on the exchange’s digital ledger.

“Only one of those messages marks the NYSE First Trade — the exact moment a company became public, creating an opportunity for others to share in their success,” she said. “The NYSE First Trade NFT memorialises that unique moment in a company’s history.”

NYSE’s first class of NFTs represent the first trade of streaming platform Spotify, which executed the inaugural direct listing on the exchange.

In a direct listing a company makes its debut by selling existing shares directly to the public instead of bringing in intermediaries.

The exchange’s NFT offerings also include cloud computing services company Snowflake, the biggest software initial public offering (IPO) ever, as well as delivery service DoorDash, the gaming companies Unity and Roblox, and South Korean e-commerce company Coupang which raised US$4.55 billion — the largest US IPO of 2021 so far