Newly minted: Non-fungible tokens and the commodification of fandom

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) exist today as a component of broader, ever-evolving financial environment in which questions value, ownership, and intention are characterized by their ambiguity. This article considers Dapper Labs “NBA Top Shot,” blockchain-backed website inviting NBA fans to join “a new era fandom” wherein they may acquire NFTs highlights opening “packs,” functionally similar trading cards. reflect the pressures market forces, well increased cultural economic emphasis on marketization, financialization, commodification, ubiquity gambling-like designs interactions. Furthermore, this study explores tensions present differing intentions for Shot platform Discord server, diffuse nature user conversations (a that disregards topical boundaries), audience attention toward marketization investment interests. The commodification fan experience illustrates shared social pressure more readily think one’s life, interactions, consumptive behaviors through lens investor, fostering attitudes normalize instability encourage risk-taking beyond scope where purchase-dependent interactions serve source joy venue representing perceived electronic gold rush.