Gatekeepers in an Open Market? : The Case of Contemporary NFT Marketplaces
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: NFTs (non-fungible tokens) promised the interaction of artists/creators directly with their collectors without the need for any intermediaries, but the realisation was quick that such a technology, instead of getting rid of intermediaries, reintroduced new intermediaries in the form of NFT marketplaces. These marketplaces exhibit diverse features and cater to different user groups. A wide array of governance strategies, such as curation and gatekeeping, are used to steer creativity and interactions in the marketplace, informed by the marketplace's strategy. We examined this diversity by identifying the'ideal types' of marketplaces based on these strategies alongside the motivations of the creators to make sense of the growing NFT market and constructed a typology that distinguishes four kinds of NFT marketplaces: Avant-garde, Canonical, Mass Culture, and Coterie. The article also offers practical implications for creators and collectors looking to make informed choices when deciding to participate in a particular marketplace.
Source: Aaltodoc (Aalto University)
Institution: University of Agder
Language: English
Subfield: Information Systems
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7117343677
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