NFTs are everywhere these days, from dominating the news cycle to being endorsed by celebrities around the world. But even amongst this global visibility, there are still people who believe that NFTs are based purely on hype with no real-life application.
While there is no doubt that NFTs are popular, how many people are actually investing in them? Well, the Stillman School of Business at Seton Hall University has released the findings of a new study that helps to answer this question.
As per the study, about 1 in 4 households in the United States have bought NFTs or cryptocurrencies.
The Popularity of NFTs
The study in question polled 1,514 US adults who were asked whether they had bought any cryptocurrencies or NFTs. As per the results, 24% had bought either a cryptocurrency or an NFT or both.
The results indicate that younger people (42% of 18 to 34-year-olds compared to 29% of 35 to 54-year-olds) are the primary investors in these digital assets, as well as men (37% compared to 13% of women).
The study also investigated attitudes among sports fans and found that there was particular interest among them for things like cryptos and NFTs. The study thus concluded that there is significant potential for NFTs in the sports space.
“Although we are in the early innings of crypto and NFT ownership, sports fans have shown a real proclivity for engagement in these markets,” said Seton Hall Marketing Professor and Poll Methodologist Daniel Ladik. “If managed effectively, NFTs could become a major source of revenue as well as a new avenue of fan connection for sports brands. In a digital age, interactive assets like NFTs can drive a sense of holder equity and belonging – key attributes for brand success.”
More specifically, they showed a particular interest when these digital assets came with exclusive perks like being able to upgrade their tickets for free (43%), receiving discounts at team stores (34%), converting their digital asset into a collectable (28%) and so on.
Professor Charles Grantham, the Director of the Center for Sport Management within the Stillman School of Business, explains that NFTs could be viable business ventures for sports leagues. Given the results of the poll, it would seem that sports fans are more than willing to pay for these NFTs if the right perks can be attached.
However, he acknowledges that a lack of understanding of NFTs could be the reason why they have not fully explored them.
What this Means
From this study, a few things have been made clear. First, more people in the United States are being exposed to and buying digital assets. Also, men and younger people seem to make up a majority of the people buying these assets.
Even among this demographic, a sharp interest in NFTs seems to exist among sports fans, especially for the perks they can enjoy through them. If this need can be met, sports leagues stand to profit immensely off the NFT space.
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