I just finished reading the Oasis blog post “Liquefaction: How Bored Ape 8180 Became the Most Traded NFT in History”. The TL;DR: they’ve built a trustless, hardware-secured system that turns an NFT into a programmable asset.
Core concept
Liquefaction lets multiple users share one NFT through a policy-controlled wallet. The private key stays locked inside a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), and smart contracts only allow transactions that meet defined conditions (rental period, spending limits, etc.)
This effectively gives an NFT the behavior of a smart contract without moving the asset itself.
The "Take My Ape" demo
They ran a live auction on Bored Ape #8180:
Bid in ROSE
Gain access and ownership rights temporarily (15+ mins)
Enjoy perks like profile display, BAYC Studio, gated access
Transfer rights back automatically—no key transfer
BAYC #8180 changed hands 34 times, making it the most traded NFT ever, even though full ownership never changed.
Why this matters for developers
Programmable ownership: NFTs become flexible, time-bound assets
Security-first: TEEs prevent key exposure and front-running
New asset primitives: rental markets, subscription passes, modular access
Privacy-enabled logic: Oasis Sapphire keeps policies confidential
Questions to explore
How are policies defined and deployed within TEEs?
Can this model handle more complex workflows—like nested rentals or fractional access?
What are the edge cases: malicious renters, policy conflicts, forced key revocation?
Integration: how would you hook this into a game engine or dApp front end?
Final thoughts
Liquefaction is a major innovation in on-chain asset management. It separates control from ownership, enabling NFTs to act more like time-shared resources or subscription tokens—without needing token transfer or custodial risk.
As more blockchains adopt TEE-based computing, this pattern could redefine asset utility and accessibility in Web3. Would love to hear how people plan to use or build on top of this.
Top comments (1)
I am very excited about Liquefaction. NFT rental is just the beginning. In the article about Bored Ape 8180 becoming the most traded in NFT history, there is a list of several other Liquefaction use cases, not only reimagined digital ownership. We are awaiting a new era of governance, reputation, and privacy when all the use cases are unlocked. R&D is ongoing after IC3 won a grant from Oasis, and a recent ecosystem spotlight video underlined the work being done. What a development!