💡Time Lending Protocol – Unlocking Capital from Future Availability

How Time Lending Works

Lend Your Time (for Providers)

Service providers can tokenize future availability into TimeNFTs or TimeTokens (e.g., 1-hour consulting slot), and lend them into the protocol for yield.

• Your time is not immediately consumed but offered as a future asset, accessible to borrowers.

• Upon borrowing, you receive interest or staking rewards, while the time remains secured via smart contract.

• Once the time is claimed and fulfilled, funds are unlocked and the contract is settled.

Borrow Time (for Consumers)

Consumers or businesses can borrow time assets to secure future sessions without upfront full payment.

• Users can collateralize $TIME or other accepted tokens to borrow time from the lending pool.

• Borrowed time can be used for consultations, service packages, or resold in the marketplace.

• If the session is not completed or the time isn't returned, the collateral is liquidated or used to compensate the lender.

Use Cases

• Entrepreneurs borrow multiple expert hours to bootstrap a project.

• DAOs or startups pre-booking advisor or mentor time with deferred cost.

• Freelancers unlock capital by lending future availability.

• Users leverage time slots as collateral to borrow stablecoins or access DeFi yields.

Reclaiming and Resetting Borrowed Time Rights

In time.shop’s Time Lending Protocol, time is treated as a tokenized right to consume a future service—not as a reversible resource. Therefore, "returning time" refers to the return or cancellation of the usage rights associated with a time-based asset, rather than the reversal of the time itself.

The system ensures that if borrowed time is not used, the usage rights are revoked, reset, or returned to the lender, and the smart contract handles the appropriate compensation or reallocation of the asset.

Borrowed Time Is Not Consumed

If the borrower does not use the time asset within the designated period:

• The smart contract automatically revokes their access to the time slot.

• The time-based asset is reset to “unclaimed” or returned to the lending pool.

• The lender regains the right to re-sell or re-lend the time asset.

Time Is Resold to a Third Party

If the borrower chooses to resell the borrowed time before it’s consumed:

• Ownership of the time asset is transferred to a new buyer.

• The new holder becomes responsible for redeeming the session.

• If the session is not fulfilled by the new owner, the same refund/revoke rules apply.

Time Is Not Returned or Misused

If the borrower fails to return or utilize the time asset as per the agreement:

• The system liquidates their collateral (e.g., $TIME or stablecoins) to compensate the lender.

• The unconsumed time asset is either:

Burned, to prevent abuse.

Or reclaimed by the protocol or lender, depending on the agreement.

• Borrowers who fail repeatedly may face reputation penalties or be restricted from borrowing again.

Returning = Smart contract reclaiming the right to use time + compensating or releasing the lender.

The essence is the management of time-based rights, not a literal reversal of time itself.