The rise to prominence of NFTs in the early 2020s is a product of the rise of blockchain technology, efforts toward the decentralization of currency, and emerging fintech. In its infancy, due to a lack of government and regulatory controls, NFTs have become a massively scandalous industry. This collision of art, blockchain technology, and cryptocurrency has made some individuals millions, but often at the expense of many others.

UCL School of Management’s Associate Professor Jean-Philippe Vergne, an award-winning researcher in strategy with a focus on blockchain, was interviewed by BBC’s Point of View, providing insight into the popular documentary “The Stormtrooper Scandal.”

Vergne points out that although NFT art projects are incredibly novel, many consumers have blindly purchased the digital art with the idea that it will help them ‘become rich overnight’.  

The lack of deep understanding of NFTs ultimately left a lot of consumers in financial trouble, this is an area of research that Associate Professor Vergne is deeply entrenched in.  In 2017, Vergne found himself behind a proto-NFT project, entitled “Déja Vu”, as co-author of a graphic novel whose plotline was signposted in the bitcoin blockchain using cryptographic hashes.

To watch the Storm Trooper Scandal on BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0020cw2/the-stormtrooper-scandal

To see what Associate Professor Jean-Philippe Vergne had to say on Point of View: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0020s8l/points-of-view-2024-episode-7

To find out more about Associate Professor Jean-Philippe Vergne’s research:https://www.mgmt.ucl.ac.uk/people/jeanphilippevergne