DeFi lending protocol MetaLend will offer players of the top play-to-earn games loans based on the value of their in-game NFT assets like Axie virtual pets and Axie Land.
Listen to the CoinMarketRecap podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts
Crypto lending protocol MetaLand will now offer Axie Infinity players the ability to take out loans using their in-game assets as collateral.
That means the Axie virtual pets that are at the core of the play-to-earn game, as well as plots of Axie land and very rare Mystic Axies with special body parts. Some have sold for huge amounts in the past — although like everything else, GameFi took a huge hit last year.
GameFi is an arm of DeFi focused on blockchain-based Web3 games that use NFTs that can be ported, traded and sold outside of the game itself.
"With this partnership, Axie Infinity players will be able to access liquidity from their in-game assets on Ronin without having to sell them," MetaLend said. "This will enable players to make strategic investments and trades, or to use the funds for personal expenses. Users will even be able to borrow against yield-earning assets such as Staked Axie Land — continuing to earn rewards on their assets while they have a loan out."
Crypto lending in general got a very, very big black eye last year as the collapse of Celsius was followed by a string of failures of lenders like Voyager Digital, BlockFi and others who offered big loans with little to no collateral.
Since launching last spring MetaLend has made more than 2,000 loans, which it classifies as overcollateralized as it lends up to 30% of the assessed value.
Bypassing Bridges
The new partnership between the decentralized lending protocol and Axie developer Sky Mavis is to an extent one of convenience: MetaLend is GameFi lender focused on NFTs used as characters, accessories and assets in various Web3 games.
That included Axies, but they had to be ported over to the Polygon network, whereas MetaLend has now set up shop on Sky Mavis' Ronin Network blockchain. In the past borrowers had to bridge their loaned funds — Ether — to the Ronin chain.
However, the Ronin Network was the victim of the largest bridge hack to date in March, with some $620 million drained by North Korean government hackers, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
