VALUENFT (Sustainable and risky value drivers from a neurobiological perspective)

This projects aims at understanding the change of paradigm on how human minds have shifted towards new models of investing, such as the auction sale of “Everydays: The First 5000 Days,” a montage of digital artwork by Mike Winkelman (Beeple), sold for $69.3 million at Christie’s.

Digital artists are selling these works as NFTs — nonfungible tokens — digital collectibles that use blockchain technology as authentication. An NFT can take any form, but it usually consists of an image or video file, sometimes with a physical object attached, verified with a digital signature on a blockchain. NFTs are hence authenticated and can link the digital file to its creator. It makes digital artworks unique, and therefore, sellable.
The two main goals of the project follow a commercial and social nature:
-Goal 1: Uncover those value generating elements of NFTs which might bridge the gap between physical and virtual products to recommend NFT creators and users an optimal positioning strategy when commercializing NFTs.
-Goal 2: Explore potentially harmful strategies which might lead to adverse consumer decision making in the realm of NFTs, identify underlying drivers of such adverse decisions, and develop potential mitigating mechanisms to protect the consumer.
This project is funded by Fundación Ramón Areces as part of 22nd National Competition for Economic Research Grants (2023).