Аннотация:The explosive growth of digital technologies that have greatly accelerated the exchange of information content and reduced the degree of information asymmetry, contributed to the development of the sharing economy, which has become a subject of today’s scientific research and discussions. The novelty of the approach presented in this paper consists in the fact that the authors identify two classes of phenomena with regard to the category of "sharing economy". These phenomena are: 1) the shared use of similar or complementary resources for commercial purposes; and 2) the revival of communal economy traditions, i.e. the promoting "reciprocity economy". The article reveals characteristic features of the two components of the "sharing economy" concept, and presents their classification. In the framework of the first component two classes of relations are distinguished, namely strategic alliances without clearly defined central core, and concentric (focal) networks, where the platform plays the role of the central core. In the framework of the second component, the authors distinguish pooling of resources for shared use and mutual concession of rights on resources. The article places a priority on the reciprocity economy, which involves a radical change in the way of interaction between social agents, i.e. the transition from market to communal forms of relationships, as well as moving from the price method of coordination of activities to mutual agreement. The reciprocity economy is seen as an expected result of the transformation process of forms of ownership: the transition from the historically first communal property to private and public ownership eventually has led to the revival of community relationships, which have incorporated elements of the communal ownership and reciprocal exchange. Much attention is paid in the article to the consequences of the "sharing economy" development for the world economy.