Hope, hustle, and hype: The rise and fall of Art Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): A sociotechnical analysis of emergence and failure

Alexia Maddox; Naomi Smith

doi:10.33621/jdsr.v7i154881

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Hope, hustle, and hype: The rise and fall of Art Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): A sociotechnical analysis of emergence and failure

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Hope, hustle, and hype: The rise and fall of Art Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): A sociotechnical analysis of emergence and failure

Alexia Maddox and Naomi Smith

Journal of Digital Social Research, Vol.7(1), pp.83-102

2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33621/jdsr.v7i154881

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Abstract

Art NFT

celebrities

failure

sociotechnical imaginaries

technological diffusion

Web3

This article examines the technological emergence trajectory of Art Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), exploring their initial promise and then failure as transformative commodities disrupting art economies. Operating within an analytical framework of hope, hustle and hype, death and taxes, we investigate the interplay of technological, cultural, and economic trends shaping this trajectory towards failure. We identify the sociotechnical imaginaries clothing art NFTs and consider their relationship to both the acceptance and rejection of this technology. Our analysis contends that the desire to escape economic exclusion created a collective hope through which social adoption occurred. However, delving into the digital graveyards of Art NFTs, we identify external forces such as cultural shifts, social backlash, and regulatory interventions extinguishing the public’s ‘cruel optimism’, leading to the revocation of the social licence to operate for this emerging technology.

Details

Title: Hope, hustle, and hype: The rise and fall of Art Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): A sociotechnical analysis of emergence and failure
Authors: Alexia Maddox (Corresponding Author) - La Trobe University
Naomi Smith - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and Society
Publication details: Journal of Digital Social Research, Vol.7(1), pp.83-102
Publisher: Umeaa Universitet, Center for Digital Social Research (DIGSUM)
Date published: 2025
DOI: 10.33621/jdsr.v7i154881
ISSN: 2003-1998
Copyright note: Copyright (c) 2025 Alexia Maddox, Naomi Smith. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Organisation Unit: School of Law and Society
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991144503002621
Output Type: Journal article

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