During the year, NFTs like CryptoPunks have led the charge, with the collection reaching a staggering USD $5.1 billion market capitalization. Other NFTs — like Beeple art, “weird whales”, and more, have further contributed and added to this frenzy.

Today, a single NFTs can easily be valued at over $1 million US dollars, making the digital assets largely out of reach for most individuals. However, there are a growing class of NFTs which are selling for hundreds, or thousands of US dollars. This group of NFTs, while not financially out of reach for many, still presents a financial hurdle for the average individual. This hurdle is significant enough such that acquiring and enjoying NFTs at this price point can still be out of reach.

Meanwhile, NFT holders (whether they are holding NFTs worth hundreds or worth millions of dollars) are generally unable to extract any value from their digital assets while they continue to hold them in their digital wallets. In fact, most strategies deployed by NFT holders is a “wait and see” mentality. That is, wait and see whether the value of their NFT assets increases over time, so that they can sell for a hefty profit.

During this time, the NFT — which could be enjoyed or used by someone else — is locked in the NFT holder’s wallet. The NFT holder extracts no daily value, and those who wish to use the asset have no way to get to it.

But what if it didn’t have to be this way? What if both the owners and non-owners of a specific NFT could mutually benefit from the same asset at the exact same time?

The NFT Consumption Model Tomorrow — Renting & Lease to Own

It has only taken a year, but many NFTs are already out of reach for the average consumer. Valued in the millions of dollars, many of these digital assets will likely never be held or used by the common person. While analogous to the real world (after all, how many individuals are owning Gulfstream jets or driving Lamborghinis?) — NFTs enable a completely different type of possibility. One that the physical world simply cannot match.

Example:

Imagine owning a Gulfstream. Imagine that on the days that you didn’t need to use it, you could rent it out — and generate passive income. Imagine that, each time after it is rented, the jet looks exactly the same — no additional wear and tear, no damages, exactly as you had left it. Further, imagine that the value of your jet is able to increase over time — despite having used it every single day of the year.

Now replace the Gulfstream with an NFT.

Using the example in the preceding section, players of Cryptoblades (or Axie, or Decentraland), can acquire NFTs while playing the game. Players may not use the NFTs daily, but may hold on to it anyway, believing that it could go up in value. Meanwhile, if the NFT holder chooses to, he/she may make their asset rentable. For the first time, other players in the respective gaming ecosystem could utilize a NFT that isn’t theirs — thereby enjoying the utility of an asset, while the NFT owner can also keep owning the asset, while enjoying passive income on their holdings.

This application extends beyond gaming. The owners of Beeple’s digital art pieces, for example, could one day rent out their NFT art, allowing other individuals to enjoy “displaying” the original NFT for a limited time, while the original asset owner continues to hold the actual asset.

Cryptopunk owners can also rent out their digital beings — giving others an opportunity for others to “flex” their online personalities (if only for a limited time), all the while earning some passive income. This scenario becomes increasingly relevant as the metaverse industry begins to develop, and avatars within the metaverse become increasingly valuable and important.

And finally, we will one day see a world of digital landlords. Owners of the $2.3 million USD parcel of land in Axie may one day rent that plot of land to another, who may make use of the digital space for their own purpose (e.g. putting a digital storefront on top of the land). One day, digital land rental will be paid to digital landlords.

Lastly, digital lease-to-own schemes will also materialize. Similar to lease-to-own programs for automobiles in the real world, NFTs which are a bit too pricey for a consumer to purchase all at once may be sold instead through a lease to own model. In this model, consumers can pay regular installments over a number of months/years — and with the final payment, ownership of the NFT can transfer over to the consumer.

For many, this new NFT model may seem far-fetched — however, with NFT asset prices continuing their astronomical rise, and NFT assets producing no value while slumbering in digital wallets, a leasing and rental market unlocks enormous value for NFT owners and consumers alike.

A new crypto segment is about to be born.