The American Stock Exchange (AMEX), now known as NYSE American, is a U.S. stock exchange that was once the third-largest stock exchange in the United States, after the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Nasdaq. The AMEX was founded in the early 1900s as the New York Curb Market Agency, named so because traders initially conducted transactions on the streets of New York City. It eventually moved indoors and became the New York Curb Exchange, later adopting the name American Stock Exchange in 1953.