Trading NFTs Better: How Transaction History Influences Consumers' Value Perception of NFTs

Abstract

The Non-Fungible Token (NFT) market exhibits sustained activity, with secondary trading accounting for the majority of overall volume and creator revenue in recent years. Unlike primary mints of untraded NFTs, secondary purchases involve tokens with established ownership transfer histories recorded transparently and immutably on the blockchain. This study examines how these transaction histories shape consumers' value perceptions and purchase intentions. Based on a social value lens and cue-utilization theory, we propose that transaction histories serve as diagnostic cues signaling perceived popularity, thereby enhancing social value and driving purchase intentions. Three preregistered experiments with NFT-experienced participants support this framework. We find that traded (vs. untraded) NFTs elicit higher purchase intentions, an effect that emerges even with a single prior transaction and does not significantly increase with more transactions (Study 1). This relationship is serially mediated by perceived popularity and social value (Study 2). Furthermore, the effect is stronger when transaction histories are recent (vs. outdated) (Study 3). These findings highlight the psychological mechanisms underlying secondary market dominance in NFTs, emphasizing verifiable transaction records as key to fostering perceived community endorsement in liquid digital consumption contexts. The results offer implications for NFT ecosystem strategies, such as prioritizing active trading to sustain social value and long-term viability.