The Ownership Economy: Crypto & the Next Frontier of Consumer Software – Variant

Crypto networks and DAOs often use the concept of the “ownership economy,” an idea first articulated by venture capitalist Jesse Walden, as a kind of guiding philosophical infrastructure.

The ownership economy. Central to the idea of NFTs and cryptocurrencies is the ownership economy where those who participate in the system also hold an ownership or financial stake in it. In this economy, the platforms are built, operated, and owned by their users, who are even more incentivized to make sure the system keeps running and has the adv... See more

The ownership economy doesn’t always mean a literal distribution of tokens, stock options, or equity. Rather, it means that ownership — which may manifest in the form of novel economic rewards, platform governance, or new forms of social capital — can be a new keystone of user experiences, with plenty of design space to explore. - Jesse Walden

This is the Ownership Economy, and beyond being a positive social endeavor, the platforms building it are able to leverage the strongest form of market incentives to grow network effects.

What is the ownership economy? The products and services that will define web3—and the next generation of the internet—are those that transform users into owners. We call this the ownership economy.