Efficient and equal-term exchange in NFT markets: an application of housing markets with contracts

Abstract Modern NFTs carry contractual restrictions, such as vesting periods, staking requirements, and royalty obligations, that create an exchange environment structurally identical to the housing market with contracts framework. This paper applies that framework to NFT exchange markets, focusing on the case where strategy-proofness is a secondary concern. We show that the equal-term core may be empty, and we give a simple condition under which it is not. We also show that no mechanism can at once achieve Pareto efficiency, equal-term consistency, and strategy-proofness. When strategy-proofness is relaxed, the Dual Top Trading Cycles algorithm always produces an efficient, individually rational, and equal-term matching. This makes it an appropriate mechanism for NFT platforms that prioritize allocative efficiency and property-rights consistency.