IQ Protocol — A DeFi framework that gives new life to digital assets
Source: IQ Protocol Website
Mobile and PC games that use NFTs have experienced exponential growth over the past year or so. This coincides with the growing number of play-to-earn games launching alongside the traditional gaming market, which has been comparatively stagnating in terms of innovation. In fact, as of Jan 2022, there are around 2,500 games that are built using blockchain technology, and the number keeps increasing.
According to the BGA Blockchain Game Q3 2021 Report by DappRadar, the play-to-earn model and the popularity of NFTs are the two most significant contributors to the fast-growing blockchain market. Almost half of the 1.54 million crypto wallets in existence or 754,000 addresses are used for blockchain games. There’s no doubt that many new users are coming into the NFT and play-to-earn space.
With all of the NFT games available, interested players need to carefully choose which games to play, as there is significantly more upfront cost associated with play-to-earn games. Unfortunately, not a lot of players have that capacity. Take Axie Infinity for example, where it would require $1065 just to form an average team of Axies and start playing.
To solve this issue, a system that allows for rentable NFTs can drastically lower those high barriers to entry. Enter IQ Protocol, a NFT lending and borrowing protocol that allows game developers to attract more players to their platform by offering rentable NFTs. Players won’t need to part with a substantial amount of capital to permanently buy assets and take the risk of investing considerable resources into a play-to-earn game without first experiencing it for themselves.
By issuing rentable NFTs, game developers will be able to give more players a chance to test out the game before investing upfront. For players who cannot afford to buy assets right away, the rentable NFT model provides a beneficial solution to lower barriers to entry. If players can “try” the game before they invest, play-to-earn games can attract more users, thus increasing revenue and active users. Interested parties can rent the asset of interest (avatar, digital skin, etc…) to give it a try. After using the asset, further consideration can be taken as to whether or not the renter may want to purchase the asset further down the road.
It also benefits existing players who aren’t playing the game at the moment. Instead of letting their assets stay idle, owners can lend their NFTs and earn a passive income. Interest is generated by other players who pay a fee to borrow the NFTs for a specified time.
Unlike most lending and borrowing models, IQ Protocol is risk-free for the lender. It also does not require hefty collateral to borrow. How is this possible? The underlying smart contracts of IQ Protocol ensure that at the specified expiry time of the rented assets, the original asset is automatically returned to the lender. Borrowers cannot run away or forcibly keep the borrowed assets. This gives a clear peace of mind to lenders, who can be assured that they will receive their assets back without a shadow of a doubt. In return, they also receive passive earnings for these assets which would have otherwise been unused and lying in their wallets.
Furthermore, these rentable NFTs can be accepted by other games, metaverses, and marketplaces to make play-to-earn more expansive. With IQ Protocol, developers have more flexibility in how NFTs can be used to benefit in-game mechanics. It allows more freedom for a fun player experience, as well as third-party marketplace support, and much more that would otherwise not have been possible.
Content from IQ Protocol Website
IQ Protocol will be issuing their own native token known as $IQT. This token will introduce a DAO for its holders and will be leveraged in various ways to ensure the continued development, growth, and success of the protocol and IQ Labs in the years to come. $IQT is set to launch in Q1 2022 and members of the DAO will have voting rights for proposals relating to the IQ Protocol ecosystem. More details on the exact utility of $IQT will be shared closer to launch.
There is currently a whitelist program going on for those of you who might be interested to have early access to the $IQT public sale.
Source: IQ Protocol Website
In order to avoid confusion, do also note that IQ Protocol was previously overseen by the PARSIQ team, which was the first “client” to IQ Protocol, enabling its clients to use PARSIQ monitoring services by renting wrapped expirable $PRQ token. The screenshot above is from the IQ protocol website and demonstrates this.
IQ Labs is a separate entity from PARSIQ with a different team, but they still work very closely with PARSIQ. IQ Labs has now taken over the development and deployment of the IQ Protocol and this new, separate entity will be launching the $IQT token, which is separate from PARSIQ’s $PRQ token.
If the idea of renting NFTs appeals to you and you like what you have read, don’t forget to follow IQ Protocol’s official channels below to keep updated on what they have been up to!
⚙️ Find out more about IQ Protocol:
Website | Twitter | Telegram | Github | Discord | LinkedIn | Medium
