A study of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). : Diagnosis through the lenses of classical Economics.

Abstract: NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) are digital assets representing real-world objects like art, music, videos, gaming items, etc., originally, they reside on a blockchain indicating a certificate of authenticity or proof of ownership deeming the uniqueness and scarcity of commodities. They have shown astonishing market attention and inconceivable price margins are being set for certain NFTs. The NFT phenomenon being in a nascent state, not much research has been conducted from the standpoint of value from the users and this thesis tries to fill the gaps in that area from a socio-economic point of view. The use of NFTs is on a rise with several companies delving in and speculated to grow even bigger bringing a transformative shift in the way businesses work today, using the blockchain technology NFTs are heralded as a new way to define ownership and property constructs. Going forward it is expected that they could be a gateway to a tokenised future through a new form of value assessment of commodities and transitioning economic functions. This dissertation ventures on to look at the value perspective from the masses on how they shape an individual's viewpoint. Through a classical economic intervention of theories as discoursed in the literature review, this research tries to infer nuances of users employing a qualitative study whereby unstructured interviews were the source for data collection and using a thematic analysis various themes are derived which are pointed out in the discussion section. The analysis gives us an indication that many people are indulged in the NFT space as a source of profit maximisation and several indications are portrayed towards community building as a means of value creation. The qualitative nature of the study relies on interpretivism and a radical structuralist paradigm shedding light on the thought process behind an individual’s behaviour, trying to understand the context of ‘value’ as perceived by the people.