Publications
Publications
- Harvard Business Review Digital Articles
How NFTs Create Value
By: Steve Kaczynski and Scott Duke Kominers
Abstract
How much could a cluster of pixels possibly be worth? More pointedly, why is it worth anything at all? The explosion of NFTs and their accompanying marketplaces have left many baffled, incredulous, and deeply skeptical. But while NFTs may be fetching eye-popping, eyebrow-raising valuations, there is a logic to how—and when—they create value. By creating a system of verifiable digital ownership NFTs fundamentally changed the market for digital assets, creating the possibility for new types of transactions. Amidst a flood of new ventures, however, it can be hard to tell which are creating value and which are just riding the hype. The companies that have been most successful on this new frontier have a few things in common: They make meaningful use of the NFT technology itself, leverage a community of users, generate confidence that they can continue executing on the project to maintain ongoing community engagement, offer accessible “on-ramps” for new users, and are able to weather crypto market swings.
Keywords
Technological And Scientific Innovation; Crypto Economy; Digital Transformation; Blockchain; Technological Innovation; Currency; Technology Adoption
Citation
Kaczynski, Steve, and Scott Duke Kominers. "How NFTs Create Value." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (November 10, 2021).