The world of Web3 digital assets is constantly evolving, but the concept of “ownership” has largely remained quite rigid. You own an NFT, it’s yours — period! But what if you want to temporarily share its privileges? Or rent it out securely without losing complete control? 🤔 This is precisely where Liquefaction, a groundbreaking wallet system, steps in to change the game.
Imagine being able to “liquefy” any blockchain asset, allowing others to temporarily use its benefits securely and transparently. This is no longer science fiction! Researchers at Cornell Tech, led by James Austegen and under the guidance of Professor Ari Juels, have been pioneering this field. Building on their Liquefaction research paper published in late 2024, the team, through an initiative with IC3 and close collaboration with Oasis Network, is now exploring the immense potential of Liquefaction on Oasis’s powerful Sapphire platform.
Their latest project, a proof-of-concept named “Take My Ape,” is more than just a typical experiment. It’s giving us a glimpse into the future of NFT rentals, where you can temporarily rent a Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT 🐵 and enjoy all the associated privileges.
In this article, we’ll dive deep into how “Take My Ape” is leveraging Liquefaction and Oasis Sapphire to redefine digital asset ownership, unlocking a myriad of new applications for the entire Web3 ecosystem. 🚀
What is Liquefaction? Decoding the Concept of “Liquefying” Assets 💧💡
Before exploring “Take My Ape,” let’s understand its core foundation: Liquefaction.
As described in the project’s documentation (and the image you’ve seen), Liquefaction is a “wallet platform that uses trusted execution environments (TEEs) to enforce fine-grained access control policies on private keys.” Sound complex? Let’s break it down:
Essentially, Liquefaction introduces a revolutionary approach to digital asset control, allowing owners to delegate access without transferring actual ownership. This is achieved through a few key concepts:
🔑 Encumbered Key: The system generates a key pair inside a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE). Let’s call this the “Master Secret Key” (MSK). The most crucial part: this private key is never exposed outside the TEE. It’s always kept secure.
📜 Access Control: Smart contracts define the rules and limitations for using this encumbered key. These rules can be very flexible, including: Time-based restrictions (e.g., rental for 2 hours). Usage count limits. Action limitations (e.g., only allowing signing of specific transactions, not transfers).
🧩 Asset Segmentation: You can define access control mechanisms on a per-asset basis. This allows two (or more) people to share access to a single asset in different ways.
🎭 Mask as a Wallet: This is a simple convention with numerous applications. From “lending” fully private actions, to using Oasis as a Bitcoin Layer 2, or even trading locked tokens.
Simply put, Liquefaction enables an unprecedented level of granularity in asset management. Instead of just two states — “owned” or “not owned” — you can precisely define who can do what, with which asset, and for how long.
“Take My Ape”: BAYC NFT Rentals Become a Reality 🐵🎟️
Now, with an understanding of Liquefaction, let’s see how the “Take My Ape” project has applied it to create a unique BAYC NFT rental system.
This project is an impressive proof-of-concept focusing on NFT ticket sales and rentals, specifically for the prestigious Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs. Here’s how it works:
Lender (Ape Owner): A BAYC owner who wants to rent out their NFT can use the “Take My Ape” platform.
Renter: A user wanting to experience BAYC privileges (e.g., access to exclusive members-only spaces) can rent the NFT for a specific period.
Privilege Experience: During the rental period, the borrower can sign messages with that NFT. Their address will appear in the Yuga contract (BAYC’s parent company) just like any standard Ethereum wallet transfer. This means they have full access to the benefits the NFT provides. 🎉
End of Rental Period: When the rental period ends, the NFT is automatically transferred to the next renter (if any) or back to the primary owner’s wallet. This process is seamless and secure.
What makes “Take My Ape” special isn’t just the idea of NFT rentals, but how it achieves this in a secure and trustless manner.
The Security Power of Oasis Sapphire TEEs 🛡️💎
The secret behind the safety and efficiency of Liquefaction, and specifically “Take My Ape,” lies in the use of Oasis Sapphire’s Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs).
Oasis Sapphire is an industry-first confidential smart contract execution environment, enabling secure computation on the blockchain. Here’s how TEEs play a crucial role:
Secure Key Storage: Private keys (the MSK mentioned earlier) are generated and stored inside TEEs. This means they are shielded from the outside world, even from the wallet’s “owner” or node operators. No one can directly access the private key.
Restriction Enforcement: TEEs are responsible for enforcing the signing capability rules and restrictions defined in the smart contracts. For example, if an NFT is only rented for 24 hours, the TEE will ensure the renter’s signing ability is disabled after that period.
Confidential Computation: Sapphire allows smart contracts to perform computations on encrypted data without needing to decrypt it, further enhancing privacy and security.
The Cornell Tech team is also implementing a secondary-price auction mechanism. This aims to fairly determine the next temporary owner when multiple users are interested in renting an NFT. All of this is done securely and transparently thanks to Sapphire’s capabilities.
Support from the Oasis Protocol Foundation through a grant also underscores Oasis’s commitment to fostering innovative solutions like Liquefaction. Oasis is proud to support this critical research. 🙌
Beyond NFTs: The Boundless Potential of Liquefaction 🌍✨
Although “Take My Ape” focuses on NFTs, Liquefaction’s potential extends far beyond that. It truly has the capability to transform digital asset ownership across the entirety of Web3.
Consider the potential applications outlined in both the text and the Liquefaction image:
From the “Applications of Liquefaction” Image:
🏛️ Governance:
Voting: Enable on-chain or off-chain voting without transferring full governance tokens.
Quadratic Voting: Implement more complex voting mechanisms.
Multisigs: Allow for more flexible multisig configurations.
🌟 Reputation:
Soulbound Tokens (SBTs): Permit conditional use of non-transferable SBTs.
Transaction History: Provide controlled access to transaction history for reputation purposes.
Airdrop Rights: Rent or delegate rights to claim airdrops.
Loyalty Points: Manage and use loyalty points flexibly.
🔒 Privacy:
Trading Locked Tokens: Allow trading or use of tokens still in a lock-up period.
Private Asset Trading: Facilitate secure private asset trading.
Private DAO Treasuries: Manage DAO funds more privately.
Secret Contract Payments: Execute confidential payments.
Hidden Privacy Pools.
🎟️ Ticketing:
Token-Gated Ticketing: Rent access to events or content based on tokens without selling the token itself.
🔍 Provenance:
Taking Theft (Recovering Stolen Assets): Potential mechanisms for dealing with stolen assets.
On-chain Attack Mitigation.
🔗 Cross-chain:
Overlay Smart Contracts: Create cross-chain interaction layers.
From the Research Text:
OTC trading for vested tokens: Unlock liquidity for tokens not yet fully unlocked.
Identity: Selectively manage and share aspects of digital identity.
DAO voting mechanisms: Refine and improve how DAOs make decisions.
Cross-chain account abstraction: Simplify user experience across multiple blockchains.
Liquefaction isn’t just about renting assets. It’s about creating a new layer of flexibility and programmability for digital ownership. It allows us to rethink what it means to “own” something in the blockchain space. Instead of a binary concept, it becomes a spectrum of rights and privileges that can be segmented, delegated, and managed securely.
The Future of Ownership: A New Era With Liquefaction and Sapphire 🌅
“Take My Ape” is just the beginning. It serves as a blueprint for countless future Liquefaction applications built on Oasis Sapphire. More importantly, it underscores the broader implications of making digital assets “liquid” — not just in financial terms, but in terms of utility and accessibility.
Imagine a world where:
Artists can rent out early access to their works without selling the copyright. 🎨
Gamers can securely lend rare in-game items to friends. 🎮
DAO members can delegate their voting power to experts on specific issues without losing control of their tokens. 🗳️
Journalists can grant temporary, paid access to their exclusive content. 📰
This is the kind of future that Liquefaction, powered by the security and scalability of Oasis Sapphire, is helping to build. It offers an opportunity to rethink ownership in blockchain ecosystems, creating new economic models and richer user experiences.
Join the Liquefaction Revolution! 🌊
The work by the Cornell Tech, IC3, and Oasis teams is a significant step forward. It shows that by combining innovative thinking with cutting-edge technology like Sapphire’s TEEs, we can solve some of the inherent challenges in the Web3 space and unlock unprecedented potential.
The future of digital assets is becoming more flexible, accessible, and exciting than ever before. Liquefaction and Oasis Sapphire are at the forefront of this transformation. Let’s keep an eye on this space! ✨
