Time: 13:00-15:00 (UK Time), Wednesday, 11 January 2023
Presenter: Dr. Efthymios Rizopoulos, The University of Manchester
Co-authors: Prof. Markos Zachariadis and Dr. Lavinia Rognone, The University of Manchester
Chair: Prof. Victor Murinde, SOAS University of London
Abstract
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have attracted attention in the last couple of years as an investment asset, a vehicle for decentralized finance applications and a revolutionary way for content creators to sell and price their work. However, our understanding of how the specific market operates and its underlying mechanisms, the pricing process and the reason investors participate in it, is still very limited. In this paper, we attempt to answer some of these questions by utilizing one of the earliest and largest NFT collections. We find that certain aesthetic, attention, investor behaviour and market factors are linked both to the way pricing occurs in the specific market and the duration an NFT will remain in a certain wallet before is sold. Major changes on the blockchain network appear to contribute to higher prices and shorter holding periods in the seven-day interval before the changes take place, whereas the occurrence of bubbles is associated with higher prices, but not the length of the holding period.
Presenter
Dr. Efthymios Rizopoulos
Efthymios Rizopoulos is a Research Associate at Alliance Manchester Business School with 6 years’ experience in market microstructure, financial economics, trading, equities, economic development, banking and FinTech. Acute analytical and problem-solving skills with proven academic track record in large dataset analysis and database management including Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters, Datastream, and WPRDS. Strong skills in financial modeling, risk management and valuation with good knowledge in programming such as SAS/SQL, Matlab, R and Python. Research interests include but not limited to market microstructure, high frequency and algorithmic trading, FinTech, DeFi, open banking, gamification, ESG and green finance.