Airdrops represent a pivotal strategic instrument for Web3 projects, serving to distribute free tokens and motivate early adoption. However, the popularity of these tokens has fueled the emergence of airdrop hunters—individuals who exploit multiple transactions to acquire disproportionate amounts of tokens unfairly. This phenomenon threatens the integrity and fairness of the Web3 community. Current detection methods struggle with high false-positive rates, harming legitimate users, and require significant computational resources for training. Furthermore, these methods face challenges in adapting to the evolving tactics of airdrop hunters, leading to diminished detection accuracy and efficiency. We introduce ARTEMIX, a community-boosting-based framework that integrates custom-engineered features and community detection techniques to identify airdrop hunters in NFT transactions. Using data from the Blur NFT market, ARTEMIX demonstrates superior accuracy and efficiency, outperforming existing graph-based inference models, achieving an F1 score of 0.898. This approach provides a scalable and effective solution to anomaly detection in the Web3 ecosystem, promoting a more secure and equitable environment for token distributions.
In the rapidly evolving landscape of GameFi, a fusion of gaming and decentralized finance (DeFi), there exists a critical need to enhance player engagement and economic interaction within gaming ecosystems. Our GameFi ecosystem aims to fundamentally transform this landscape by integrating advanced embodied AI agents into GameFi platforms. These AI agents, developed using cutting-edge large language models (LLMs), such as GPT-4 and Claude AI, are capable of proactive, adaptive, and contextually rich interactions with players. By going beyond traditional scripted responses, these agents become integral participants in the game's narrative and economic systems, directly influencing player strategies and in-game economies. We address the limitations of current GameFi platforms, which often lack immersive AI interactions and mechanisms for community engagement or creator monetization. Through the deep integration of AI agents with blockchain technology, we establish a consensus-driven, decentralized GameFi ecosystem. This ecosystem empowers creators to monetize their contributions and fosters democratic collaboration among players and creators. Furthermore, by embedding DeFi mechanisms into the gaming experience, we enhance economic participation and provide new opportunities for financial interactions within the game. Our approach enhances player immersion and retention and advances the GameFi ecosystem by bridging traditional gaming with Web3 technologies. By integrating sophisticated AI and DeFi elements, we contribute to the development of more engaging, economically robust, and community-centric gaming environments. This project represents a significant advancement in the state-of-the-art in GameFi, offering insights and methodologies that can be applied throughout the gaming industry.
This paper examines the role of hardware security as the basis for order in the decentralised metaverse. It does this by considering the infrastructural tools and governance practices at the heart of KONG Land, an example of a blockchain-based decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) and decentralised physical infrastructure network (DePIN) project. KONG Land manufactures open-source microchips to create verifiable hardware that anyone can use or integrate into their own application. KONG Land’s focus on the materiality of infrastructure led them to pursue a governance model as a digital-physical, politically decentralised polity. By foregrounding the physicality and affordances of decentralised efforts to manufacture microchips, this paper shows how rematerialising digital domains leads back to questions of statehood and its purpose and provides an explanation for emerging sovereignties. Building on Olson’s (1993. Dictatorship, democracy, and development. American Political Science Review , 87 (3), 567–576) theory of the stationary bandit, the paper positions projects like KONG Land as an attempt to create a ‘better bandit’ – one that sets out to provide its citizens with a superior level of security than that offered by either nation states or the corporate metaverse, with the intention of creating the conditions for Web3 production and expansion.
As an emerging video game genre in recent years, blockchain games have attracted substantial attention due to the strengths of blockchain technology and the popularity of Web3 ideals. However, blockchain games have encountered a dilemma due to the inability to attract traditional video game players. In this paper, we compare data gathered from Twitter, webpages, and research literature through the grounded theory (Glaserian approach) to uncover that the key to transcending the current state lies in the innovation of native and engaging game mechanics. We propose a design framework for blockchain game mechanics derived from the concept of emergent games, which integrates the basic elements of emergent games with the unique features of blockchain technology, discussing its potential design directions. Finally, we implement a high-fidelity prototype to serve as a case, instantiating a novel mechanic based on this framework and providing early proof of feasibility.
Bilgi sistemlerinin ve kitle iletişim araçlarının teknolojik dönüşümü, dijital çağın önemli bir parçası olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. 21. yüzyılda, internetin ve bilgisayar teknolojilerinin gelişimi, bilgi sistemlerini sanal ortama taşımış ve modern hayatın pek çok alanında değişim yaratmıştır. Bu dönüşüm, kitle iletişim araçlarının evrimini hızlandırmış ve farklı disiplinler arasında yakınlaşmayı sağlamıştır. Sanat da bu değişimden etkilenmiş, dijital teknolojilerle yeni bir boyut kazanmıştır. Dijitalleşmenin sunduğu olanaklar sayesinde sanat eserleri, coğrafi sınırlamaları aşarak geniş kitlelerle anlık iletişim kurabilmektedir. İnternet aracılığıyla dolaşıma giren dijital eserler, teknik olanaklar sayesinde tekrar üretilebilir ve ticari ekosistemler oluşturulabilir. Bu bağlamda, Non-Fungible Token (NFT) teknolojisi, dijital sanatın özgünlüğünü ve sahipliğini garanti altına alarak sanatın dijital dünyadaki yerini sağlamlaştırmaktadır. NFT'ler, sanat eserlerinin dijital ortamda değerli birer varlık olarak kabul edilmesini sağlar ve sanatın ticaretini kolaylaştırır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, NFT teknolojisi ile üretilen sanat eserlerinin dijital kültüre katkısını incelemektir. Çalışmanın temel sorusu NFT teknolojisi ile üretilen sanat eserlerinin dijital kültüre ne ölçüde katkı sağladığıdır. Seçmece yöntemle belirlenen içerik analizi ile araştırılmış olan bu çalışma, dijitalleşen sanat medyumlarının kültürel etkinliğini sorgulayarak literatüre önemli bir katkı sağlamayı hedeflemektedir. Dijitalleşme ve teknolojinin her geçen gün gelişmeye devam etmesi, bu çalışmada yapılan araştırmaların ve parametlerin (ulaşılabilirlik vb. durumlar nedeni ile hedef kitlelerin değişmesi ve satış oranlarının etkilenmesi) değişebilmesi durumu bu çalışmanın sınırlıklarıdır. NFT teknolojisinin sanat üzerindeki etkileri ve dijital kültürdeki rolü, sanatın geleceği ve dijitalleşmenin sanatsal üretim üzerindeki etkileri hakkında derinlemesine bilgi sunacaktır.
Paul Hancock, Gert Jan van Hardeveld, Jarek Jakubcek, Babak Akhgar · 6 authors
Tracing cryptocurrency transactions is a far from trivial process. This likely explains the increasing utilisation by criminal networks for a significant amount of criminal activity, not just cybercrime, but any crime requiring monetary transfers [ 1 ]. It is, therefore, vitally important that adequate training exists and is readily available for both new and experienced investigators to ensure that they are familiar with the latest techniques, tools and trends. Traditional training methods can be costly and resource-intensive, requiring highly qualified trainers to give their time to conduct training sessions. To address this issue, a training resource, in the form of a serious game, has been created. The game aims at providing a platform to improve the skills and expertise of law enforcement officers whilst reducing the workload of experienced investigators. This article describes the collaborative design and development of the serious game Cryptopol in a partnership between Europol and CENTRIC, which is a multi-disciplinary and end-user focused Center of Excellence, located within Sheffield Hallam University. Cryptopol is the first cryptocurrency-tracing training game of its kind, used by over 1,500 people representing over 550 law enforcement agencies from across the world.
As the esports industry continues its rapid growth, new opportunities such as the metaverse and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are emerging, driven by the inherently digital nature of esports. To better understand viewer engagement in this evolving landscape, this study investigates viewer behavior in the context of watching esports. A survey was conducted on a sample of 312 esports viewers in South Korea, and the data was subsequently analyzed using structural equation modeling. The study's findings indicate that hedonic motivation is significantly correlated with attitudes toward esports and the utilization of esports in the metaverse. Furthermore, perceived enjoyment was found to significantly positively influence attitudes toward esports, the metaverse expansion of esports, and the use of esports via NFTs. Notably, attitudes toward esports showed a significant relationship with continuance intention. Both subjective norms and perceived behavioral control were also found to significantly influence continuance intention.
With the popularity of Play-to-Earn (P2E) games, in-game token economies have become the foundation of the financial structure of virtual worlds. More and more players are investing in digital assets, promoting long-term economic growth. This paper delves into the key factors for the sustainability of the P2E game token economy: the investment value of tokens and external incentives. When tokens are no longer profitable, user churn rates rise sharply, which is critical to the continued development of P2E games. External factors also significantly impact token prices, which affects the stability and sustainability of the entire economic system. In response to these challenges, this paper proposes a series of strategies to enhance token stability, including adjustments to game design, improvements to player incentive mechanisms, and the formulation of relevant policies and regulations. The conclusions of this study aim to provide valuable insights and guidance to game designers, investors, and players to promote the healthy development of Web3 game token economic systems.
Abstract This paper is an encounter between an artist creating characters for video games and an academic studying how people and things are being financialized. Exchanging about the appearance of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies – technologies associated with Web3 in the video game industry, the academic, and the artist reflect on the place of playfulness, creation, and finance in our society. They observe that most North American and European players resisted NFTs and cryptocurrencies, while more Asian-Pacific ones embraced the latter. They conclude that those reactions were explained by the fact that gamers perceived cryptocurrencies and NFTs as institutional objects associated with a financial logic, whose presence threatened the gaming logic. As pragmatic friends, they nevertheless issued an NFT with this paper, a “Crow Queen.” Time will tell if the Web3 society will praise this new form of digital joint academic/art production.
Chris Elsden, Evan Morgan, Ella Tallyn, Suzanne Black · 8 authors
This paper presents the design, deployment and qualitative study of a large-scale, public, generative art exhibition, through which passers-by could create artworks, and mint a non-fungible-token (NFT). Following the month-long exhibition, during which 229 anonymous participants produced artworks, 69 non-transferable NFTs were minted, we surveyed (33) and interviewed (14) expert and novice participants about their experiences. We explored contemporary challenges of owning digital things, and the extent to which NFTs, and 'Web3' technologies offer meaningful forms of ownership. Our findings describe how the inability to trade this NFT, and its unique circumstances of acquisition, made it meaningful in ways that extended beyond its immediate (limited) utility and offered participants something through which to construct identity. Reflecting on the aspirations, contradictions, and misconceptions of forms of ownership enabled by NFTs, we conclude with proposals for renewed attention in HCI to the nature of digital possessions, and the potential for 'ownership design'.
Andreea Raluca Duguleană, Cristina Tănăsescu, Mihai Duguleană
This research aims to establish the primary drivers influencing the development and consumers’ decision-making process in web3 games—decentralized games that function according to the play-to-earn paradigm. We observe several types of micro-economies developed within five play-to-earn games and highlight four roles consumers play at any given time. Our study offers a different perspective on rational consumer behaviour in cryptocurrency-based games and paves the way to better understanding their dynamics and evolution. Results shed light on the construction of in-game economies and how individuals of a given type engage in different playing activities. Furthermore, we compare the key features of web3 games with those similar to classic online games and assess if the play-and-earn implementations represent an evolution from previous revenue models. Using our proposed methodology, researchers can compare and classify any P2E games. We conclude by establishing a set of actions that enable consumers to benefit from this new phenomenon.
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) significantly contribute to the establishment of VIP culture by embodying exclusivity, uniqueness, and privileged access, inherent to their nature. They enable creators and brands to offer exclusive ownership or access to digital or physical assets, aligning with the VIP ethos of rarity and status. Through NFTs, experiences, artworks, or digital collectibles become status symbols, fostering a new dimension of exclusivity in digital spaces. This intersection of technology, art, and exclusivity amplifies VIP culture, allowing it to extend beyond traditional boundaries into the realm of digital collectability and virtual experiences, thus redefining what it means to be part of the "in-crowd" in the digital age.
In this paper, we conduct a portfolio analysis based on the lottery-like characteristics of cryptocurrencies to examine return predictability. Our results show that cryptocurrencies with higher lottery-like characteristics exhibit lower one-month ahead returns. This phenomenon, known as the lottery-like effect, suggests that investors overvalue cryptocurrencies with stronger lottery-like traits, leading to lower future returns. Moreover, the effect persists over longer horizons, and the results remain robust after controlling for other crypto-asset characteristics.
Bu çalışmanın amacı, spor markalarının modern dünyanın getirdiği yeniliklerden olan Metaverse evrenine girişlerinin incelenmesidir. Çalışmada araştırmacının çevresindeki fotoğrafları, kayıtları ve dokümanları harmanlayarak yorumlaması ile öne çıkan nitel araştırma modeli kullanılmıştır. Verilerin ayrıntılı olarak toplanması ve analiz edilmesi için doküman analizi tekniği kullanılmıştır. Spor markalarından Nike ve Adidas; metaverse evreninde yeni platformlar oluşturdukları, Non-fungible token (NFT) alım ve satımı gibi çeşitli konularda patent başvuruları yaptıkları ve aynı zamanda her iki markanın da çeşitli şirketlerle ortaklıklar kurdukları saptanmıştır. Nike, kendi adını taşıyan Nikeland isimli bir metaverse sanal platformu kurmuştur. Nikeland ile kullanıcılar avatarlarını oluşturarak çeşitli spor branşlarında oyunlar oynamaktadır. Nike, kendi adını taşıyan kıyafet NFT’leri satarak kullanıcıların oluşturdukları avatarları giydirebilmelerine ve çevrim dışı yapılan fiziki hareketlerin metaverse evreninde oluşturulan çevrim içi platforma entegre edilmesine olanak sağlamaktadır. Aynı zamanda Nikeland platformunda geliştirilen görevlerle kullanıcıların özel alanlar oluşturmalarına olanak sağlanmakta ve gerçekleştirilen görevler karşılığında ödüllendirmeler yapılarak kullanıcıların teşvik edildiği görülmektedir. Adidas ise Adidas Originals adıyla NFT’lerini satışa çıkarmış olup hem kullanıcıların Sandbox metaverse evreninde kendi avatarlarını giydirebilmelerine hem de gerçek dünyada satışa sunulan Adidas ürünlerinde indirimlere sahip olmalarına olanak sağladığı saptanmıştır. Sonuç olarak Nike ve Adidas gibi globalleşmiş spor markalarının modern dünyanın getirdiği metaverse teknolojisinin kullanımı noktasında adımlar attıkları görülmektedir. Kullanıcılara ulaşmak, rekabeti artırmak ve kullanıcıları spora teşvik etmek spor markalarının metaverse giriş amaçlarını ortaya koymaktadır. Ayrıca, markalar kendi isimlerini taşıyan NFT’leri kullanıcılara satarak hem kendilerinin hem de kullanıcıların kazandıkları bir sistem oluşturmayı hedeflemektedirler. Nike ve Adidas gibi büyük markaların bu faaliyetlerinin diğer markalara da örnek oluşturabileceği düşünülmektedir.
Open access
Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
Digital Games and Media
Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification
This thesis tells the story of DTube, a blockchain-based social media (BSM) platform positioned as an alternative to YouTube. BSM platforms are situated at the intersection of the emergent Web3 discourse and the dominant platform paradigm. These novel initiatives attempt to develop community-led alternatives to mainstream commercial platforms by leveraging emergent Web3 technologies. Using the platform biography approach, the thesis traces DTube’s evolution between 2017-2022, locating these changes within the history of the web and digital media platforms. It contributes to a broader understanding of changing discourses, technologies, and practices of the web at a crucial historical juncture.
Teknolojinin gelişmesi ile iletişim araçlarında başlayan değişim birçok farklı sektöre ve alana yayılmıştır. Bu değişimi yaşayan alanlardan biri de geleneksel oyun kavramı olmuştur. Oyunun oynandığı ortam, konsol, yazılım değişmiş ve dijital oyun kavramı ortaya çıkmıştır. Dijital oyunların sağladığı etkileşimli dünya, sosyalleşme kavramını dahi değiştirmiş ve kavramın anlamı tartışılır noktaya gelmiştir. Ancak teknolojinin ilerlemesi günden güne devam etmektedir. Blokzincir teknolojisinin hayatımıza girmesi, bankacılığı, turizmi, sosyal mecraları etkilediği gibi dijital oyunları da etkilemiştir. Satoshi Nakatomo lakaplı bir yazarın 2008 yılında bir makalesinde bahsetmesiyle, dijital para birimi “Bitcoin” dünyada adını duyurmuştur. Başlangıçta para transferinde aracıyı ortadan kaldıran bir dijital bir para olarak faydalanabileceği düşünülen bu kripto paranın inşasını sağlayan Blokzincir teknolojisi ise birçok alanda değişim yaratmaya başlamıştır. Nakatomo, Blokzincir’i; sürekli büyüyen işlem kayıtlarının listesini çalınma veya değiştirilme gibi tehlikelerden koruyarak tutan dağıtık veri tabanı olarak tanımlamaktadır. Blokzincir teknolojisinin popülerleşmeye başlaması ile birlikte ise NFT(Non-fungible token) kavramı literatürde yer almaya başlamıştır. Bir dijital varlığın benzersiz bir kriptografik anahtarına sahip olan, çoğaltılamayan, sahibi tek olan NFT’ler temellerinde yatan blokzincir teknolojisiyle sanat başta olmak üzere birçok alanda etkisini göstermiştir. Bu alanlardan biri dijital oyunlar olmuş ve NFT oyunlarıyla birlikte play-to-earn oyunları ortaya çıkmıştır. Ethereum akıllı kontratlarıyla üretilen NFT, ne kadar dijital sanat eserleri ile ünlense de günümüzde birçok NFT ve blokzincir tabanlı oyun vardır. Bu oyunları oynayan kullanıcılar token üretebilmekte (mining), oyunların NFT avatarlarına sahip olabilmekte ve en önemlisi bu yolla maddi kazanç sağlayabilmektedirler. Bu bağlamda bir kazanç mekanizmasıyla oynanan oyunlara “Play to Earn” oyunları denir. Oyunlar geliştikçe klanlar oluşmakta ve dijital oyunda bahsettiğimiz etkileşim, sosyalleşme kavramları Discord, Telegram gibi uygulamaların sohbet gruplarında devam etmektedir. Çalışmamızda NFT ve play-to-earn oyunları incelenecek ayrıca bu oyunların dijital oyunlar arasında nasıl bir yere sahip olduğu araştırılacaktır. Oyuncuların, oyunlara olan ilgisinin sebeplerini öğrenmek için Discord, Telegram gibi uygulamaların oyun gruplarında, oyuncuların yorumları toplanacak ve incelenecektir. Elde edilen bu veriler, içerik analizi yöntemiyle incelenerektir. Blokzincir, NFT, Play to Earn gibi teknolojilerin popülerleşmesi ve maddi kazanç sağlanmasıyla bu alandaki oyunlara da gösterilen ilgi artmıştır. Bu bağlamda NFT oyunlarının gelecekte nasıl bir yere sahip olacağı, kalıcı olup olmayacağı gibi sorular merak edilmektedir. NFT tabanlı oyunların detaylarının incelendiği çalışmada, oyunların geleceği de tartışmaya sunulacaktır.
The concept of symbolic capital, introduced by Pierre Bourdieu (1986), has been applied to explain the circulation of value between game communities and the industry. The bottom-up approach can be found in the studies of so-called “gaming capital” accumulated by gamers (Consalvo, 2009), while the top-down approach focuses on the agents who hold the most power in the gaming industry (Nichols, 2013). These perspectives may require reconfiguration today: since the end of the 2010s, traditional power relations have been contested by ‘decentralized’ gaming that uses blockchain technologies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Their early adopters suggest that NFTs may disrupt traditional circulation of value to the benefit of players as opposed to major corporations. Many gamers, however, vehemently oppose NFTs in games. By combining these top-down and the bottom-up approaches, this article explains that the specific symbolic gaming capital remains systematically underappreciated in blockchain gaming, which operates along different vectors of power. To support my argument, I turn to the longest-running blockchain-based game CryptoKitties (Axiom Zen, 2017), and analyze the elements of the role-playing genre that appeared in the game during the collective process of continuous development. In the first case, these elements (‘fancies’) were added by the developers of the game, and in the second case, an RPG-like extension emerged as one of its fan spin-offs (KotoWars). I conclude that symbolic capital is community-specific in the case of blockchain gaming. It is only available to those who already possess considerable symbolic, and, much more importantly, financial capital within the crypto community.
This article examines a recent form of marketing superhero comics that has garnered extensive media attention and has been promoted as the next big step in comics production: the decision by companies like Marvel Comics and DC Comics to offer selections of their intellectual properties as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Focusing specifically on Marvel Comics’ collaboration with the VeVe app, which serves as a digital auction house through which customers can buy comics and related merchandise, this article suggests that we are witnessing the popularization of an already popular product (superhero comics) in a process that is indicative of larger transformations of the popular. As an agent of such transformations, superhero comics were introduced in the 1930s and 40s as a “low medium” with mass appeal that was critically devalued by proponents of high culture, but they are now widely celebrated as a “popular medium.” We argue that this transformation from a popular but devalued (“low”) product to a popular and culturally valued (but not necessarily “high” cultural) artifact marks a shift from qualitative to quantitative valuation that was driven at least in part by popular practices of collecting, archiving, and auctioning that have enabled the ongoing adaptation of these comics to new social, technological, and media demands. The article uses the newsworthiness of big auction sales and the sky-rocketing prices that well-preserved comic books can garner as a framework for assessing the appearance of superhero NFTs and for gauging the implications of this new media form for the cultural validation of comics.
Videogames are an increasingly prominent use case for blockchain technology (what has been termed ‘cryptogaming’). Drawing on documents, such as industry presentations, social media posts, interviews and white papers, this article analyses discourses surrounding cryptogames, focusing on the claims made by cryptogame developers and investors. We ask two related research questions: What are the dominant visions of a cryptogaming future, imagined by and for various constituencies? And what sorts of values get realised in such an imagined future of game development and use? We argue that cryptogames imagine players and developers as financialised subjects, adopting attitudes and practices of risk and investment as salves to both microeconomic problems in the games industry as well as broader macroeconomic issues.
The fervor for Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) attracted countless creators, leading to a Big Bang of digital assets driven by latent or explicit forms of inspiration, as in many creative processes. This work exploits Vision Transformers and graph-based modeling to delve into visual inspiration phenomena between NFTs over the years, i.e., the visual influence that can be detected whenever an NFT appears to be visually close to another that was published earlier in the market. Our goals include unveiling the main structural traits that shape visual inspiration networks, exploring the interrelation between visual inspiration and asset performances, investigating crypto influence on inspiration processes, and explaining the inspiration relationships among NFTs. Our findings unveil how the pervasiveness of inspiration led to a temporary saturation of the visual feature space, the impact of the dichotomy between inspiring and inspired NFTs on their financial performance, and an intrinsic self-regulatory mechanism between markets and inspiration waves. Our work can serve as a starting point for gaining a broader view of the evolution of Web3.