The NFT Purchasing Process and the Challenges to Trust at Each Stage

Abstract

The unique features of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) are becoming increasingly appealing as we spend more of our time online. This increased popularity is nevertheless not free of controversies, and there is a lack of clarity over the final form this digital asset will take. While there are some early adopters, the whole NFT ecosystem will have to be clarified for wider adoption, particularly the purchasing process. This research evaluates a model of the purchasing process of NFTs and the role of trust in this process. The validated model identified that the purchasing process of NFTs has four stages and each stage is affected by trust: (1) Trust in the cryptocurrency wallet, (2) trust in the cryptocurrency purchase, (3) trust in the NFT marketplace, and (4) trust in aftersales services.