A Taxonomy of Non-fungible Tokens : Overview, evaluation and explanation

Abstract: With the internet being the perhaps most important invention in recent time, the introduction of web 3.0 and the blockchain may be considered the most revolutionizing technology since then.A decentralized internet would mean that users can do business with each other in a fast and secure way, without the need for a trusted third party. The possibility of tokenizing digital assets creates a way of representing ownership that has not been a reality until now. NFTs are tokens stored in smart contracts in the blockchain that are transferable between owners and have reached increased popularity in recent years. However, since the technology is still in its infancy, literature covering the topic is scarce and limited. A systematic literature review of the most current and relevant research papers about NFTs allowed for the creation of an initial taxonomy, deconstructing the NFT into its building blocks to serve as a tool for navigating the currently scattered research field. After that, the taxonomy’s suitability was evaluated against modern-day applications of NFTs and expanded appropriately to better describe real-world projects. The contribution of the study is a taxonomy composed of eight main components, both technical and non-technical, describing NFTs. Furthermore, for these eight components, thirty different layouts were identified.