The article is devoted to the study of sharing economy as a new economic model. Today, sharing economy or economy of joint consumption, is in serious competition with traditional industries. The paper presents basic approaches to determination of the sharing economy essence. It considers the factors contributing to its formation and growth. Among the main factors, the authors highlight technological, economic, environmental and social factors. The paper studies the development dynamics of individual sectors of the joint consumption economy in Russia, their contribution to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover, the authors explore new trends, such as the expansion of geography, changes in the demographic composition of participants, and the integration of sharing in ecosystems. The risks of further expansion of the sharing economy are studied as well - the risk of personal data leakage, problems with the state of critical infrastructure etc.