A History of Utility Theory and Its Implications for Emerging Assets like NFTs

The concepts of economic utility have evolved from a straightforward relationship centered on labor to a more complicated understanding that includes behavioral economics, which examines the interplay between economics and psychology in consumer behavior. By focusing on the utility of products, businesses can create offerings that more effectively meet their customers' needs. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have become one of the most popular applications of blockchain technology. However, many unknown factors remain regarding the value they provide. Both NFT platforms and creators often have a knowledge gap concerning the overall utility of NFTs.  This study reviews the historical underpinnings of utility theory, emphasizing how it relates to NFTs. This work explores how utility theory can be applied to NFTs and develops an initial mathematical formulation of utility specifically for NFTs. This exploratory research seeks to bridge the knowledge gap surrounding NFTs by using utility theories and highlighting areas that can assist in the long-term sustainability of NFTs. The results indicate utility theory helps clarify aspects of behavioral economics such as scarcity, fear of missing out, anchoring, loss aversion, and regret aversion related to NFTs. Moreover, utility theory can be applied to understand the actual value of NFTs, assess associated risks, enhance user experience, and ensure long-term sustainability. This research will be beneficial for scholars interested in emerging technologies like NFTs and economic analysis of assets as well as providing practitioners and NFT Stakeholders potential insights into the application of utility theory in affecting customer engagement and loyalty.