--- title: "NFT Rental Platform Shuts Down Due to “Close to Zero Traction”" description: "Have you ever wanted to rent an NFT? Neither did anyone else — and that's why an NFT rental platform has opted to shut its doors this week." date: "2022-09-17" modified: "2022-09-17" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nft-rental-platform-closes" categories: - "Blockchain" - "Future Society" - "NFTs" tags: - "crypto" - "nfts" - "the blockchain" - "the digest" --- # NFT Rental Platform Shuts Down Due to “Close to Zero Traction” ![Have you ever wanted to rent an NFT? Neither did anyone else — and that's why an NFT rental platform has opted to shut its doors this week.]() *\Image: Meebits/Open Sea\* ## Tractionless Occasionally, the invisible hand of the free market does, in fact, deliver. In a sheepish statement, the non-fungible token (NFT) rental startup Rentable, which was supposed to let people rent out their [monkey jpgs]() — like Rent the Runway for NFTs, basically — announced this week that it's shuttering because it was unable to find a "product market fit." "I am sorry to announce that Rentable is shutting down, we did not find product market fit, and our runway ended," co-founder Emiliano Bonassi wrote in a [Medium post]() about the decision, admitting that the company had gotten "close to zero traction." ## Money Talks As easy as it is to clown on Rentable, Bonassi's [followup remarks to *Decrypt*]() reveal that the venture also suffered from perhaps the biggest issue that startups of all types can face: a lack of fundraising. "We had the possibility to raise but we waited. We opted to check \[product market fit\] first since we had capital for building and auditing," the cofounder told *Decrypt*. "So, the main reason for closing is that after some pivots, we didn’t find a \[product market fit\]." Rentable's shutdown also comes amid what could well be the [bursting of the speculative NFT bubble]() that [critics have predicted]() since these crypto-backed digital assets-cum-artworks first hit the scene. ## Timeshares What Rentable was trying to do — let people who weren't crypto hype beasts rent NFTs from those who were — was an attempted cash in on the model leveraged by Rent the Runway, Airbnb and Turo. Unfortunately, that model might just not be compelling for intangible and highly-volatile digital assets, rather than a Dolce & Gabbana dress or someone's Tesla. And that might be a bad sign for the long term values of NFTs overall. **More on NFT cringe:** *[David Bowie's Estate Has a Very Believable Excuse for Nixing Its Hated NFT Project]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()