In the last years, non-fungible tokens (NFT) have gained tremendous popularity worldwide. This technology is a unique digital identifier that cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided, that is recorded in a blockchain, and that is used to certify ownership and authenticity. These characteristics, with transparency and scarcity brought impressive sales in exchange of cryptocurrency, which are used to purchase the digital works. Many firms are investing billions of dollars in these technologies, but many of them have gone bankrupt lately, demonstrating their high volatility and risk. There are various applications of NFTs, and many marketplaces have raised and interpreted their own way to buy and sell these digital items. The objective of this thesis is to describe the environment that is creating around NFTs and more specifically a comparison between the various NFT marketplaces in order to forecast their direction of development and indicate the new trends that are appearing. What are the future directions of development in the NFT marketplaces? What will be the key to success in the NFT ecosystem? In order to reach the purpose of this study and answer the research questions, a qualitative approach was deemed appropriate for this study to understand the main trends in the market of NFTs. The methodology involves a comprehensive census of NFT marketplaces, including the analysis of specific variables on their business models and technical specifications. It has been chosen to analyze the most popular marketplaces in the world, presenting a high number of volume sales and active traders. The sample has been collected from DappRadar.com with other sources, and the result is a database of 100 NFT marketplaces, on which a descriptive analysis has been made, integrated with semi-structured interviews. The results show that the market is dominated by a few players, OpenSea above all, which has set the main trends during the last years. Regarding the applications, it has been possible to identify a few groups of platforms, distinguished by their purpose and industry. Concerning the technical specifications, many blockchains and standards have been introduced but Ethereum is the most popular network supported. However, the entrance of new players is radically changing the market. The in-depth empirical analysis and the technical study make this research unique, which, however, still presents some limitations: the platforms that belong to cryptocurrency exchanges are not included in the database, so future research could integrate them with other platforms that are entering the market in the future.
Negli ultimi anni, i non-fungible token (NFT) hanno acquisito una grande popolarità nel mondo. Questa tecnologia è un identificatore digitale unico che non può venire copiato, sostituito, o suddiviso, che viene registrato in una blockchain che viene usata per certificare la proprietà e l’autenticità. Queste caratteristiche, insieme alla trasparenza e alla rarità, hanno portato vendite impressionanti negli scambi con criptovalute, le quali sono usate per acquistare gli NFT. Tante aziende hanno investito milioni di dollari in queste tecnologie, ma molte sono finite in bancarotta, dimostrando un alto rischio e volatilità dell’asset. Ci sono varie applicazioni degli NFT e molti marketplace sono cresciuti e hanno interpretato i metodi con cui comprare e vendere gli oggetti digitali. L’obiettivo di questa tesi è di descrivere l’ecosistema che si sta creando intorno agli NFT e più precisamente un confronto tra i vari marketplace NFT al fine di prevedere i loro sviluppi ed evidenziare le nuove tendenze che stanno comparendo. Quali sono le direzioni di sviluppo dei marketplace NFT? Quali saranno le chiavi per il successo nell’ecosistema NFT? Per raggiungere lo scopo di questa tesi e rispondere alle domande di ricerca, un approccio qualitativo è stato considerato appropriato per questo studio per capire le principali tendenze nel mercato degli NFT. La metodologia comprende un censimento comprensivo dei marketplace NFT, includendo l’analisi di specifiche variabili nei loro modelli di business assieme a specifiche tecniche. È stato deciso di analizzare i marketplace più popolari nel mondo, che presentano un alto numero di volume di vendite e di utenti attivi. Il campione è stato raccolto da DappRadar.com assieme ad altre fonti, e il risultato è un database di 100 piattaforme, sulle quali è stata eseguita un’analisi descrittiva, integrata con interviste semi strutturate. I risultati mostrano che il mercato è dominato da pochi attori, OpenSea sopra tutti, che ha impostato le principali tendenze negli ultimi anni. Riguardo le applicazioni, è stato possibile individuare alcuni gruppi di piattaforme, distinti dall’obiettivo e l’industria. Per quanto concerne le specifiche tecniche, sono state introdotte molte blockchain e protocolli ma Ethereum rimane la rete più supportata. Tuttavia, l’entrata di nuovi attori sta cambiando radicalmente il mercato. L’analisi empirica approfondita e lo studio tecnico rendono questa ricerca unica, la quale, però, presenta dei limiti: le piattaforme che appartengono agli scambi di criptovalute non sono state include nel database; quindi, ricerche future potrebbero integrarle assieme ad altre piattaforme che parteciperanno a questo mercato.
NFT marketplace design impact : comprehensive analysis of NFT market and ecosystem
de GUZMAN, GIAN ALESSANDRO
2022/2023
Abstract
In the last years, non-fungible tokens (NFT) have gained tremendous popularity worldwide. This technology is a unique digital identifier that cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided, that is recorded in a blockchain, and that is used to certify ownership and authenticity. These characteristics, with transparency and scarcity brought impressive sales in exchange of cryptocurrency, which are used to purchase the digital works. Many firms are investing billions of dollars in these technologies, but many of them have gone bankrupt lately, demonstrating their high volatility and risk. There are various applications of NFTs, and many marketplaces have raised and interpreted their own way to buy and sell these digital items. The objective of this thesis is to describe the environment that is creating around NFTs and more specifically a comparison between the various NFT marketplaces in order to forecast their direction of development and indicate the new trends that are appearing. What are the future directions of development in the NFT marketplaces? What will be the key to success in the NFT ecosystem? In order to reach the purpose of this study and answer the research questions, a qualitative approach was deemed appropriate for this study to understand the main trends in the market of NFTs. The methodology involves a comprehensive census of NFT marketplaces, including the analysis of specific variables on their business models and technical specifications. It has been chosen to analyze the most popular marketplaces in the world, presenting a high number of volume sales and active traders. The sample has been collected from DappRadar.com with other sources, and the result is a database of 100 NFT marketplaces, on which a descriptive analysis has been made, integrated with semi-structured interviews. The results show that the market is dominated by a few players, OpenSea above all, which has set the main trends during the last years. Regarding the applications, it has been possible to identify a few groups of platforms, distinguished by their purpose and industry. Concerning the technical specifications, many blockchains and standards have been introduced but Ethereum is the most popular network supported. However, the entrance of new players is radically changing the market. The in-depth empirical analysis and the technical study make this research unique, which, however, still presents some limitations: the platforms that belong to cryptocurrency exchanges are not included in the database, so future research could integrate them with other platforms that are entering the market in the future.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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2023_05_De Guzman.pdf
Open Access dal 13/04/2024
Descrizione: Tesi
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3.56 MB
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ExecutiveSummary_DeGuzman.pdf
Open Access dal 13/04/2024
Descrizione: Executive Summary
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409.58 kB
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409.58 kB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/212335