Opening remarks to this new edition are dearly entrusted to our publisher, Eugenio Costa, whose curiosity gave us the idea for the investigation underlying this book. To his perseverance in spread- ing knowledge is also attributable much of the success of interest and reviews that so far have sur- rounded this work.
I well remember our hesitancy to face the NFTs topic in a period - the early days of 2021 - where what soon would have become a global trend was still limited to very few curious people or insiders. Our mistrust was mainly linked to the general idea that this "world" seemed to be just a part of the gaming industry or the art market, very far from the financial ones, our natural field of expertise. In a short time, however, we understood how much our distrust was unfounded and how much Eugenio was right.
In just a few months, NFTs have globally proven their disruptive spreading power, mainly in the art market, which by its very nature needs secure and unambiguous certifications and transfers. What for centuries has been certified on paper by experts and professionals can now find in the specificity of blockchain technology a sound supporting evidence, if not an all-round guarantee for native digital works.
