Blockchain Papers

Eunyoung Sung, Ohbyung Kwon, Jinyoung Im

Purpose This study’s aim is to examine the effects of actual metaverse users’ parasocial relationships with artificial intelligence– (AI-) controlled non-player characters (NPCs) on digital luxury non-fungible token (NFT) brand preferences leading to behavioral intentions (e.g. online and offline purchase intentions, virtual-to-real behavioral activities, NFT luxury brand endorsements on social medial platforms). The study focuses on Gen Z users who seek escapism by forming parasocial relationships with NPCs, which ultimately leads to digital NFT brand preference and, in turn, affects their behavioral intentions to consume luxury fashion brands. Design/methodology/approach The usable sample size for the partial least squares structural equation modeling analysis was 348 (of 400) actual metaverse platform users (Gen Z) in the USA. Findings Among the metaverse users, the parasocial relationships with AI-controlled NPCs formed through NPCs’ emotional and cognitive intelligence lead to metaverse social connectedness, which in turn results in luxury NFT brand preferences and a virtual-to-real behavioral spillover. Furthermore, Gen Z users’ positive virtual social connectedness influences not only their metaverse purchase intentions but also their real-world purchase intentions through a virtual-to-real behavioral spillover, highlighting the positive function of AI. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first to address engagement through AI-controlled NPCs by separating emotional and cognitive intelligence, thus filling an important research gap. It demonstrates that luxury brands need different marketing strategies for digital NFTs and real items and thus need to understand consumer psychological mechanisms.

Krishiv Arora

This paper investigates how cryptocurrency advertising and social media ecosystems shape Indian teenagers’ perceptions of risk, trust and opportunity in digital assets. Against a backdrop of low youth financial literacy and rising Gen Z participation in crypto investing globally, understanding how young people interpret persuasive financial content is increasingly relevant. The study addresses a gap in existing work, which largely focuses on adult retail investors in developed markets and text-heavy platforms, by examining how Indian adolescents and young adults (13–25) encounter and evaluate highly visual, youth-facing crypto promotions. A qualitative-dominant mixed-methods design is employed. Visual content analysis of nine high-visibility crypto campaigns on platforms such as YouTube and Instagram is combined with a short online survey of 27 Indian respondents aged 13–25. The ad coding captures colour, emotional framing, FOMO and “easy money” language, celebrity presence and the visibility of risk disclaimers, while the survey records perceived trustworthiness, risk, confusion, sources of information and self-reported confidence in understanding crypto. Findings show that the analysed campaigns systematically amplify reward cues, normalise speculative trading as simple and aspirational, and relegate risk warnings to low-salience text, often using bank-like or game-like framing that exploits conceptual gaps around regulation and product safety. Survey responses suggest that many teenagers recognise hype and misleading tropes yet still rely heavily on influencers and peers, report FOMO and express limited confidence in their own financial knowledge. The paper argues for stronger youth-oriented media-literacy interventions, stricter enforcement of advertising standards, and platform-level tools that foreground risk and sponsorship in crypto content aimed at or easily accessed by young audiences.