Please note that I am not a financial advisor. The following article is for the sole purpose of providing educational information on the topic discussed.

In a previous post dedicated to the videogame The Sandbox, I explained that this is a game/platform based on the Ethereum blockchain in which players can create their own virtual worlds, games, characters, and objects to later monetize and share them with other users.

Play-to-Earn videogames based on blockchain technology and the Metaverse have important differences and advantages over other similar games such as Minecraft or Roblox since they are decentralized games in which all your digital assets really belong to you, besides that, you can also financially benefit from them.

In this continuation post about The Sandbox, I’ll show you what you need to know to start making money with this great game, and what are the options available for this insha’Allah (God willing).

How to make money with The Sandbox

The first thing you need to start making money on The Sandbox platform is to own some of its native cryptocurrency, $SAND.

In the previous post, I mentioned that this is an ERC-20 utility token that is used for all important in-game transactions. These activities can include everything from buying digital objects, participating in challenges to win more $SAND tokens, to creating new objects that you can then sell on the platform’s marketplace.

In addition, $SAND is also essential for you as a player, since if you want new equipment and items for your avatar, you’ll have to pay with $SAND for these. It’s also necessary if you want to play the games created by other users.

Basically, The Sandbox has its own virtual economy developed in its own metaverse and based on its own native cryptocurrency. The best thing is that you can earn money both actively and passively while having fun. A gamer’s dream come true.

Although there are different ways to acquire $SAND within The Sandbox, if you are a new user, it is best to buy some $SAND to start. You can buy this at any reputable exchange, Binance being one of the best options available. Let’s now see the most popular methods to earn money with The Sandbox.

Create and publish games

You have to assume that modern everyday life is not very exciting at times: wake up in the morning, go to work, return home, maybe get some rest on the weekend and repeat the process all over again. Every – day – of – your – life…

But how about becoming a secret spy, a soldier in World War II, or an adventurer in the Amazon jungle?

Well, thanks to the technology developed by the videogame industry and if you are a creative individual with some design skills, you can create adventures that other users can enjoy within The Sandbox.

Thanks to the Sandbox Game Maker design tool, you can create these experiences and publish them in portions of LAND for other users to enjoy by paying a small fee in $SAND tokens, generating passive income for you that will increase as more and more users are part of The Sandbox.

Buy and sell land for a profit

Today, and thanks to the growing interest of investors in the Metaverse, virtual lands can be worth as much as lands in the real world. In fact, parcels of virtual land have been sold for millions of dollars. In The Sandbox, LAND works as an NFT token that can be shaped to offer different virtual experiences to other users, as we saw above.

Based on this, buying portions of LAND and then selling them when they have increased in value, can be a very lucrative business. These operations can be carried out directly through The Sandbox Marketplace or through a third-party NFT exchange. Keep in mind that the price of a portion of LAND may vary depending on a number of factors, such as its size or other additional features.

Rent your LAND

Another good way to earn money if you own one or more portions of LAND, is to rent these virtual spaces to other users who want to create, publish, and monetize games and other similar experiences. Keep in mind, however, that any gaming experience built on your portion of LAND will remain the property of its designer.

Regarding the price you can charge for the rental of your LAND, as I mentioned above, this will depend on several factors, including the size of the virtual land portion, as well as its proximity to other popular communities and gaming experiences within The Sandbox metaverse.

Play to Earn

The Play-to-Earn model is here to stay. Gone is investing time and money in videogames that won’t pay you anything for your hard work and dedication. The Sandbox joins games like Axie Infinity and Decentraland in the Play-to-Earn model to allow its users to earn money in the form of cryptocurrency just by playing and participating in the playful creations of other users.

The best part is that, since these transactions are made through the Ethereum network, people can exchange their earnings for fiat money or other cryptocurrencies with relative ease.

Buy and sell ASSETS in The Marketplace

While you can create ASSETS – the objects used within the game, such as weapons, vehicles, etc. – with the VoxEdit tool and then sell them, an easier way to earn money with them is to buy ASSETS created by other users and then resell them to obtain profits.

Take into account that a single article can belong to several categories, so the possibilities are almost limitless:

• Creative art
• Collectible rarities
• Investment objects
• Commemorative items
• Certifications of participation
• Badges supporting a cause
• Skins

These are all reasons for people to purchase virtual items with gaming utility.

Uniswap liquidity pools

You can also participate as a liquidity provider in the Uniswap $SAND-ETH pool to generate passive income in the form of $SAND. Additionally, if you own LAND and use yield multipliers, you can increase the amount of $SAND you earn, as well as get rare and exclusive NFTs.

However, when it comes to liquidity pools, you should make sure that the way you are earning money is permissible (halal).

Other alternative ways to earn $SAND and NFT tokens

Here are some alternate ways you can try to give yourself more chances to earn rewards in the form of cryptocurrency tokens.

The Sandbox giveaways

From time to time, the team behind The Sandbox organizes events and giveaways that any member of the community can participate in to win lots of $SAND tokens. These events are usually carried out through official livestreams on networks or on the official website.

Community-hosted events

You can also earn $SAND tokens and NFTs by participating in contests and competitions run by LAND owners. These owners hold such events as a way to promote their games and activities hosted within their portions of LAND. Keep an eye on social media.

When it comes to earning money through competitions, please be aware that the ulema has guidelines on what types of income are permissible through competition.

I discuss this in the following blog post, Axie Infinity Overview and is Axie Infinity Halal?

Ambassador Program

If you have a website, YouTube channel, or blog, you can participate in the Ambassador Program to earn rewards by helping to promote the game. The more active you are answering questions, writing great articles, and creating videos, the more likely you are to earn cool rewards.

The Sandbox Marketplace

The Sandbox Marketplace is the portal where users of this great gaming metaverse can buy or sell game objects created by the users themselves, as well as virtual lands in the form of NFTs. This marketplace is a key element that has contributed to further expanding the interest of users and investors in The Sandbox, and it’s a very dynamic and continuously growing component that you’ll have to go through sooner or later, either as a buyer or seller.

In the marketplace, it is possible to buy and sell all kinds of ASSETS in the form of buildings, weapons, characters, vehicles, and other items, as well as GEM tokens. However, it’s also possible to buy or rent portions of LAND directly from the portal.

Bear in mind that this is a free market that works based on supply and demand, so asset prices will change constantly, and all operations are carried out in the native currency $SAND. It is also necessary to have some Ether to pay the Ethereum gas fees in addition to the fee that the marketplace takes, which is 5%, for the amount of each transaction. The fee applies to sellers.

One of the most attractive aspects of this marketplace, especially if you are a 3D artist, is that the 5% fee that is applied to each sale goes directly to a fund that is used to finance the projects of the most talented artists that bring value to the platform.

In general terms, The Sandbox Marketplace is a fairly intuitive and easy-to-use platform, and more and more users are taking their place on it, so the quantity, variety, and quality of assets are guaranteed.

Final words

The Sandbox metaverse has its own very well developed digital economy, and it’s just one small example of the direction in which the Metaverse and the digital economy, in general, are heading. It’s no longer simply about playing and exploring, but with the entire ecosystem developed based on blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, we are seeing a whole new world of opportunities before us.

And the best thing is that anyone who wants to participate can do so without being limited by their geographical location or economic position.

And the best thing is that anyone who wants to participate can do so by complying with the corresponding requirements, without being limited by their geographical location or economic position.

As I said at the beginning, a gamer’s dream come true…

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Since Bitcoin’s inception date of January 3rd, 2009, Muslims around the world have been asking the question, is Bitcoin halal? And in the early days of Bitcoin, more times than not, many scholars gave a blanket ruling that Bitcoin was haram and cited their reasons as to why.

Now, in 2021, some 12 years later, we have come a long way in our understanding of Bitcoin and our scholars have also progressed in their understanding of not only Bitcoin but cryptocurrency as a whole.

So when the recent news came out that Indonesia’s National Ulema Council issued a fatwa saying that Bitcoin and all cryptocurrency is haram, that surprised not only Indonesians, but many Muslims worldwide as Indonesians have not only been steadily increasing in cryptocurrency adoption, but the Indonesian government has also signalled its interest in providing cryptocurrency regulation to make cryptocurrency trading safer for Indonesians.

Let’s discuss the Indonesia Bitcoin ban and what this means for the future of cryptocurrency in Indonesia.

Bitcoin in Indonesia

Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world, has seen steady adoption of crypto acquisition and trading with crypto transactions amounting to 370 trillion rupiah (around$26 billion) in the first five months of 2021 alone. Make no mistake about it, Indonesians are serious about crypto.

In fact, we are now seeing that Indonesians have been investing more in cryptocurrency than they have in the stock market and the government has taken notice.

Indonesia’s Minister of Trade, Jerry Samuaga, held an interview with Metro TV News discussing the government’s initiative to create a Crypto Bourse to bring more regulation to cryptocurrency in Indonesia making it safer for Indonesians to transact with crypto.

So how is it that the government is moving forward with crypto adoption, yet the country’s National Ulema Council has completely opposite opinions declaring Bitcoin and all cryptocurrency haram?

Indonesia Bitcoin ban

In 2017 the Central Bank of Indonesia, Bank Indonesia (BI) banned using virtual currency in payment system activities. The message was clear, the Central Bank of Indonesia does not see Bitcoin as legal tender and aims to protect the country’s economy from misuse of virtual currencies.

Still, the government did not ban owning and/or trading cryptocurrencies. It only banned crypto being used in payment systems and does not recognize Bitcoin or virtual currencies as legal tender.

Four years later, in 2021, the Minister of Trade, Jerry Samuaga, has also continued to clarify this and has stated that Bitcoin is not seen as a currency or legal tender in Indonesia, but rather is classified as an asset.

And what of the country’s religious scholars?

Even with the progress in the understanding of cryptocurrencies among scholars worldwide with scholars beginning to have a more nuanced opinion on Bitcoin, crypto, and virtual currencies, the National Ulema Council in Indonesia still holds the opinion that Bitcoin and all cryptocurrencies are haram as they believe that “cryptocurrencies as commodities or digital assets are unlawful for trading because they have elements of uncertainty, wagering and harm.”

According to the National Ulema Council, Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are also seen as haram because:

• Trading them is likened to gambling
• Cryptocurrencies are not physical, tangible assets
• Cryptocurrency values are volatile and fluctuate greatly

However, Asrorun Niam Sholeh, head of religious decrees for the National Ulema Council, made it clear that “if cryptocurrency as a commodity or digital asset can abide by Shariah tenets and can show a clear benefit, then it can be traded.”

5 benefits of cryptocurrency

So are there any benefits with cryptocurrency? Yes, we can list at least five.

1) Easy transactions

Cryptocurrencies such as DASH and Cardano make it easy to conduct transactions such as remittances for extremely low costs.

This can prove most beneficial for those living in countries whose currencies are not as strong as the British Pound Sterling (GBP), US Dollar (USD), Singaporean Dollar (SGD), Brunei Dollar (BND), Jordan Dinar (JOD), Omani Reil (OMR) and others as utilizing cryptocurrencies directly between parties could help save greatly on remittance fees by cutting out expensive third-party vendors.

2) Preservation of wealth

Bitcoin, in particular, is seen as a store of value to hedge against the inflation of fiat currencies worldwide and preservation of wealth is one of the five objectives of the Shariah.

3) Transparency

Cryptocurrencies can run on public blockchains for all to see providing much needed transparency for financial structures such as stock markets and sukuks. I foresee a future where stocks will be represented as digital assets on a blockchain as a way to deliver better transparency for its investors and to prevent the trading volume from exceeding outstanding shares as can happen today.

4) Fraud prevention

Cryptocurrencies such a VeChain provide accountability for goods being produced and traded since they are tied to a blockchain that allows the consumer to validate the authenticity of a product through the entire supply chain of its production.

Utilizing cryptocurrency for fraud prevention can be highly beneficial as it can help prevent counterfeit products from entering the marketplace and harming people while also allowing the tracking of food products to make sure that they are halal.

5) Increase in economic equity

Over the years we have only seen an increase in finance and e-commerce products grow online and access to these markets can be near impossible for those who are unbanked creating wealth inequality worldwide. However, it has been reported that there will come a time when there will be more people that have smartphones than bank accounts.

Smartphones along with cryptocurrency serve as a gateway for many people to now enter the growing finance and e-commerce markets providing economic equity, or at least economic inclusion, to those who are unbanked around the world, particularly in Asian, Middle Eastern, and African countries, allowing them the possibility to participate in the market at low cost in a manner that would have been impossible years ago.

These are five examples, and there are more, of how cryptocurrency can be of benefit to humanity while also being compliant with the Shariah.

The future of cryptocurrency in Indonesia

While fatwas are not necessarily binding, Muslims generally view them with importance and Indonesian Muslims are no different. Do I believe that the ulema of Indonesia will change their view on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency? Yes, I believe they will.

Cryptocurrency is the natural evolution of money, but we must still remember that cryptocurrency is a new technology that is not adopted nor used by the masses worldwide for everyday use. The number of people that are active cryptocurrency users as of 2020 was around 100 million people in a world of billions. This is still small.

And as for how much money all cryptocurrency accounts for worldwide, well, as of the time of when this article is published, that only sits at a mere 7%.

In other words, cryptocurrency is still not mainstream, but in time, as better infrastructure is built throughout cryptocurrency markets focusing on ease of use and government compliance; where we will see better security, faster transaction times, interoperability between blockchains, a better balance between privacy and transparency, better user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design, along with many countries implementing their own central bank digital currencies, I do believe that we will see more stability in crypto markets, easier and more beneficial use of the technology, and more acceptance by governments and scholars worldwide and this includes Indonesia.

Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world with a people naturally inclined to business and technology and who, by and large, hold their Islam with importance. I believe they will find a way to integrate cryptocurrency within their country in a beneficial way while still upholding their Islam.

This is already taking place in Indonesia as we see it in projects like Cardanesia, a Cardano staking pool earning halal yield from Cardano’s proof of stake protocol. Cardanesia’s participation in proof of stake block validation is seen as environmentally friendly and as a way of giving back, some of the income they earn from staking is given as charity to Rumah Zakat.

Insha’Allah I look forward to seeing the opinion of scholars change and look forward to having them participate in the formation of halal financial products, security, and IT infrastructure based on cryptocurrency, blockchain, and digital currencies in a manner that is not only beneficial for the government, but also for the everyday user.

I do believe that this is possible in Indonesia, and in the end, Allah knows best.

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Please note that I am not a financial advisor. The following article is for the sole purpose of providing information on the topic discussed.

In recent months, videogames based on non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and that are also somehow related to the metaverse and the Play-to-Earn model, such as Axie Infinity, Decentraland, and today’s topic, The Sandbox, have quickly become trends in the crypto industry.

So, what is The Sandbox metaverse?

In an innovative, fun, and attractive presentation, The Sandbox is a gaming blockchain platform that allows users to own, create, play, and monetize their gaming experiences as well as earn SAND – the platform’s native cryptocurrency – by owning, selling, or renting plots of land or by simply selling their ideas in the platform’s marketplace.

In this article, we’ll cover The Sandbox ecosystem and the variety of components that are making it so popular; the possibilities within this new metaverse, the utilities of its tokens, the variety of resources available for its users, and if it is halal. Let’s get started.

What is The Sandbox?

As I already mentioned, The Sandbox is a gaming platform that allows users to create their own virtual worlds, similar to the popular Minecraft and Roblox games.

This videogame has been available on iOS and Android mobile devices since 2012 – the original version was in 2D – gaining a lot of popularity among the public, reaching 40 million downloads in 2018.

However, in the same year 2018, Animoca Brands bought the rights to the game from the original company, Pixowl, to develop The Sandbox platform with Voxel-style graphics quite similar to the aforementioned games. However, Animoca made one major change to the original game:

They placed The Sandbox game on the Ethereum blockchain.

As with games like Decentraland, this feature now allows users to build their own virtual worlds and develop a digital economy within the game that can also be extended outside of the game, taking The Sandbox to a whole new level. Thanks to blockchain technology, The Sandbox players have total freedom to monetize their digital worlds through the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), with all the possibilities that this entails.

The Sandbox was implemented on the Ethereum network to give it the security and strength of the world’s second-largest blockchain, which in turn creates the opportunity for its users to create games independently on its platform around the world and without a central regulatory authority.

Currently, The Sandbox has a hybrid structure that hosts the virtual world partly on centralized servers, while the processes related to tokens and other collectibles, run on a decentralized blockchain. This ensures broad freedom for developers while ensuring that players have ownership of their collectibles, characters, and other digital items at all times.

How does The Sandbox work?

The Sandbox is possible thanks to the implementation of smart contracts on the Ethereum network. This also facilitates the creation of tokens and NFTs through a series of processes and interactions very similar to what is seen in other Play-to-Earn games based on this blockchain. After that, we have three elements that are key for The Sandbox ecosystem to function properly:

1. The powerful VoxEdit 3D editor

Animoca has resorted to the use of the VoxEdit design tool; a powerful software that allows the generation of all kinds of graphics and 3D environments, as well as animations and even NFTs. These elements can then be associated with all types of polygonal content – of the Voxel type – that use blockchain technology.

The advantage of the VoxEdit editor is that users can create absolutely anything they can think of, be it people, tools for the game, monsters, or architectural structures. These objects can then be animated and converted into NFTs to be exported to The Sandbox Marketplace, allowing users to easily sell their creations.

As you can see, it is a powerful tool that is being used even by large and renowned companies in the industry, such as Atari or Square Enix.

2. The Sandbox Marketplace

In this marketplace, users can buy, sell, and exchange their designs created with VoxEdit. The Sandbox Marketplace is a decentralized marketplace that supports Ethereum’s ERC-721 and ERC-1155 tokens. In this open market, players can sell unwanted assets or those created specifically for profit, so it is possible to find thousands of different assets with all kinds of designs, which users can filter by rarity, categories, and themes.

In addition to the above, the marketplace is also available for those users who wish to explore, discover, and acquire new assets to add to their LAND tokens in the metaverse of the game – more on this shortly.

3. The Sandbox metaverse

This is without a doubt, the most active component of the gaming ecosystem. In The Sandbox metaverse, players can design, buy, and own digital assets within their virtual properties.

In addition, in “Play” mode, players can explore LAND elements – the virtual plots owned by other users – and enjoy the game experiences created by other players and interact with other people in these activities.

This is very similar to what we can see in games like Decentraland, but The Sandbox ecosystem has the added benefit of the great flexibility provided by the simple but powerful VoxEdit editor to unleash creativity without limits.

What is Sandbox crypto used for?

Although there are several tokens within the universe of The Sandbox, there are two that are essential for the operation of the platform. These would be the SAND and LAND tokens.

SAND

This is the native token within The Sandbox platform. It is an ERC-20 token that has a maximum supply of 3 billion SAND. I’m speaking about a utility token that is used to perform different types of activities and transactions within the game ecosystem, such as:

• Play
• Modify avatars
• Buy LAND tokens
• Exchange assets on the marketplace

And it even grants its holders a governance power that allows users to propose and vote on different aspects related to the future of the platform through a system based on DAO.

SAND will also offer its holders the possibility of earning additional rewards by staking their token within the platform in addition to a percentage of the profits from in-game transactions made through SAND.

Staking SAND also increases the chances of finding GEMs and CATALYSTs tokens necessary to create ASSETS tokens with a high level of rarity.

Staking on the platform will be a feature offered in the future and there is no set date on when this will happen at this time. However, staking SAND is currently possible through liquidity pools on Uniswap.

Before staking in liquidity pools, first read my blog post, 4 Types of Yield Farming and is Yield Farming Halal?

Finally, the best part is that it’s possible to get SAND simply by participating in different types of activities within the game. Although it’s also possible to buy SAND on different reputable exchanges on the Web.

LAND

LAND is the other essential part of The Sandbox. I’m talking here about parcels of virtual terrain that are what form the playing field as such. Without LAND, users wouldn’t have a place to put their VoxEdit creations and not even a place to play.

LAND is an ERC-721 type NFT token that users can purchase to build their own games or virtual environments and combine them to create ESTATES and DISTRICTS, which are nothing more than combinations of two or more portions of LAND.

The LAND token allows users to monetize their creations, either by charging other players to visit them or to participate in their games. They can also earn SAND tokens by charging for the rental of their land to host virtual events and even earn money from renting advertising space.

There is currently a total of 166,464 portions of LAND in the game’s metaverse, and some can be purchased through public offerings from time to time. However, it is also possible to buy LAND from other players using the Marketplace or specialized NFTs sites, such as OpenSea.

I already mentioned that in addition to these tokens, the game has additional tokens required for certain activities within its metaverse. They are the following:

ASSETS

These are NFTs that users can create using the VoxEdit tool and then upload to the Marketplace for sale. These assets can be any type of object that users wish to create, including buildings, weapons, animals, or people, each generating a unique game experience for each user and situation.

GEM and CATALYST

GEM tokens are ERC-20 tokens that serve to define and improve the attributes of ASSETS tokens and that burn as they are used.

On the other hand, CATALYST are tokens of the ERC-20 type that are also used to generate spaces in which to place GEMS. That is, they serve to create spaces to improve our ASSETS by applying various GEMS that enhance specific properties of certain ASSETS.

Learn more about GEM and CATALYST tokens here.

Is The Sandbox halal?

Is The Sandbox halal? Yes, The Sandbox game would be considered halal. The Sandbox is a platform that allows the user to build or play games as well as buy, sell, and rent assets in what is called the metaverse, and this is not seen as haram. It is how the user utilizes the platform that will be seen as either halal, haram, or makruh.

However, when it comes to playing videogames, there is still a general consensus among scholars that even though it is permissible to play and/or earn money from videogames, it is not highly encouraged as there is a concern that by someone occupying their time in regular gameplay, this may lead them to neglect the rights of Allah, others, or even their self.

In addition to this, there are certain fatwas that discuss what income is permissible or not permissible to earn from playing sports or games.

See my previous article on Axie Infinity as I discuss this in more depth in that article – Axie Infinity Overview and is Axie Infinity halal?

As for SAND crypto, scholars who generally rule that cryptocurrency is halal would also consider SAND as halal and see it as a utility token. Scholars would normally classify SAND as an asset and not a currency.

Is The Sandbox a good investment?

As has happened with many similar games, recent announcements made by Facebook – now Meta – around the metaverse, have marked a turning point in the history and price of SAND, the cryptocurrency of The Sandbox.

Before the announcement, SAND hit an all-time high of $1.15 in August 2021, after trading at $0.05 for months until the end of January 2021, when it joined the bullish trend that most cryptocurrencies were following.

Although the rise to $1.15 was impressive, it was still in its infancy compared to the price reached in November, when it soared to $3 in a matter of days. After this event, the price of the cryptocurrency has continued to rise, rising above the $8 mark, and accumulating a market capitalization of around $5B.

Right now, this all makes perfect sense as more and more people are learning about cryptocurrencies and the metaverse, which is driving a huge adoption of existing platforms. However, Meta will undoubtedly be a huge competition for The Sandbox and other similar platforms.

Until the announcement of Meta’s metaverse, Decentraland was probably The Sandbox’s biggest rival. Both are games based on the metaverse, built around a cryptocurrency, and have an economy based on NFTs. However, The Sandbox allows its users to create almost anything with its innovative 3D editing software.

Although Decentraland has many more active users at the moment and has the attention of brands like Coca-Cola, The Sandbox also has the collaboration of some notable partners like Atari and Adidas, among others.

The opening of The Sandbox is approaching

Recently, the company behind the project, Animoca Brands, published a very important announcement on the Twitter profile of The Sandbox, where they reported on the opening date of the metaverse of this promising NFT game – November 29, 2021. After this, the price of the SAND token skyrocketed, as this announcement was a motivation for investors.

This is also due to the fact that the debut of the game will bring a series of rewards to the first 5,000 users who sign up to participate in the corresponding missions.

First place will get a reward of 1,000 SAND tokens, which at the time of publishing this blog post, would be valued at around $6k, plus three more prizes in the form of unique rarity NFTs.

In addition to all of this, many people also know about the collaboration between The Sandbox and SoftBank Group – a Japanese company that works with telecommunications and the internet – with the aim of financing the game’s metaverse, a fact that has also helped drive up the price of SAND tokens.

From all the above, it is easy to deduce that The Sandbox and its SAND token will continue to rise, at least as long as the hype for the metaverse lasts. But if this is as Mark Zuckerberg says, “the future,” then this is probably a good time to invest, considering that prices are still low.

As always, never invest what you cannot afford to lose, and always do your research before investing.

Conclusion

The Sandbox has joined the hype of the “Play-to-Earn” games and the metaverse ecosystem. The platform offers its users the possibility to earn money while they play and interact with the great variety of possibilities offered by their metaverse.

In addition, users can also create other games and experiences without the need for constant maintenance on the platform, which would allow them to earn additional passive income.

If we take into account the large number of users who play games like Minecraft or Roblox, it is very likely that The Sandbox, with its interesting incentives, will be able to further popularize all the ideas and technologies behind blockchain, cryptos, and the like.

It looks like on the horizon of Play-to-Earn games, a bright future can be glimpsed… What do you think?

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Please note that I am not a financial advisor. The following article is for the sole purpose of providing information on the topic discussed.

Binance has quickly become one of the most important platforms in the crypto world observing spectacular and unstoppable growth since its founding in 2017, characterized by including a great variety of cryptocurrencies and tokens, and very low transaction fees.

Due to this growth and other factors, it was normal for Binance to decide to launch its own cryptocurrency, Binance Coin (BNB). But what is the purpose of Binance Coin?

Binance Coin’s purpose is to provide users and operators of the platform with affordability and simplicity in their day-to-day operations with lower and more competitive fees than if the user conducted the same operations with Ether on the Ethereum blockchain.

Today, we’ll go in-depth about Binance Coin, a cryptocurrency that has quickly managed to place itself among the most important in the world, and we’ll also see if it’s worth investing in it insha’Allah (God willing).

What is Binance Coin?

It’s an ERC-20 type token originally built within the Ethereum blockchain and launched simultaneously with the Binance crypto exchange.

In July 2017, Binance issued a total of 200 million BNB tokens in an ICO to raise funds to continue the development of the exchange. After a while, the coins were transferred to the platform’s own blockchain, known as Binance Chain (BC). It is noteworthy that this cryptocurrency has a mechanism that reduces the amount of BNB in ​​circulation, being programmed to burn 100 million BNB – 50% of the initial issue – which will mean a gradual adjustment in the price of the cryptocurrency for it to become more stable over time.

On the other hand, since all the BNB tokens were issued at its launch, the cryptocurrency cannot be mined, but the reverse process occurs, that is, the gradual burning of BNB until only 100 million units remain on the market.

Similar to what happens with Ether in Ethereum, Binance Coin works as the fuel needed to power the Binance ecosystem. It is something that was contemplated since the creation of the exchange, and its intention from the beginning was to obtain funding at the same time as offering benefits to the holders of the cryptocurrency that operate on the platform.

What is Binance Smart Chain?

Binance Smart Chain (BSC) is a second-generation blockchain technology that works in parallel to Binance Chain. Compared to other blockchains, Binance Smart Chain has a more general purpose, and this is achieved through the use of smart contracts.

Thanks to these automated pieces of code, any conceivable logic can be encoded, including traditional financial services. The development of smart contracts in BSC is possible thanks to EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine). Thanks to EVM sharing, BSC has the ability to execute smart contracts written on other EVM-compliant blockchains.

Developers can make use of the Binance API to connect to Binance servers and code smart contracts in a good variety of programming languages, including GO, Java, JavaScript, C++, C#, Python, and Swift.

Binance Chain or Binance Smart Chain?

The original intention at the time of founding Binance was to implement a platform on which smart contracts could be executed to offer greater functionality. However, the decision was made to do it in two steps. So, in April 2019, Binance created Binance Chain to make trading on its platform almost instantaneous. However, this had a counterweight; ultra-speed transactions didn’t allow the execution of smart contracts, since they require a greater level of computational power.

It’s convenient to remember that Ethereum has faced a lot of congestion for this reason, particularly when NFTs entered the scene. An example of this we saw in December 2017, when people rushed to collect and trade NFTs from the game CryptoKitties; at that time, the entire Ethereum network collapsed.

It was to avoid these kinds of congestion problems that Binance separated the functions of its platform into two different blockchains and thus implemented Binance Smart Chain in September 2020 as BC’s sidechain.

By executing smart contracts to assist the Binance Chain, BSC is fully compliant, allowing the migration of crypto assets from one chain to another. While BSC supports the BEP-20 token standard, BC supports BEP-2 tokens. As with Ethereum ERC-20 tokens, BEP-20 allows easy implementation of tokens in DeFi protocols.

On the other hand, the mobility of funds between the two Binance chains is easy using the Binance Chain Wallet, which allows access to funds in BC, BSC, and Ethereum, exchange NFT, or participate in yield farming to obtain passive income.

What can you do with BNB Coin?

Originally, this cryptocurrency was created to pay for transactions on the Binance exchange, however, the value and utility of BNB has been increasing in line with the growth of Binance and the expansion of its ecosystem. Currently, Binance Coin can be used within Binance, on third-party exchanges, to make day-to-day payments, for new blockchain development projects, and within the Binance Smart Chain (BSC). Here are the most common uses:

Transaction fees

When trading within the Binance Chain, users can get a discount on the fees per trade.

Trading

In addition to the fact that users can exchange BNB for other cryptocurrencies, there is also a discount on trading fees within Binance when using BNB. Currently, this discount is 25%.

Raise user levels

Users who have large amounts of BNB and who have been trading for at least 30 continuous days on the platform, can become VIP users. This level offers interesting discounts on trading fees, among other benefits.

Non-commercial conversions

Users who own other cryptocurrencies in their Binance account that they cannot trade have the option to convert to BNB.

IEO Lottery

Binance’s Initial Exchange Offerings (IEO) program allows users to request lottery tickets based on the amount of BNB tokens they hold. The winning ticket is rewarded with a specified number of BNB tokens.

Governance

BNB-owning users also have rights to the Binance Chain governance mechanism. This will depend on the amount of BNB that is held in staking.

Day-to-day payments

Many physical stores accept payment for goods and services through the BNB cryptocurrency.

Binance Smart Chain (BSC)

BNB can be used on the blockchain parallel to the Binance Chain, known as the Binance Smart Chain. It is possible to exchange assets and information between BC and BSC.

Is Binance Coin worth buying?

In less than four years, Binance Coin has experienced exponential growth, going from being a common asset to positioning itself as the third largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. This has had a lot to do with the support of Binance, today considered the exchange with the largest number of operations in the world, with a base of 15 million users.

To give you an idea, suffice it to say that in January 2021 BNB was trading at $43, and in July of the same year, at $332. That means a growth of 672% in just a few months.

Now, if you take into account the maximum value that it reached at the beginning of May 2021, when all cryptocurrencies increased their value notably, BNB traded at $675, 1,469% more than in January.

As of today, and according to CoinMarketCap, the cryptocurrency ranks third among all cryptos, with a market capitalization of more than $96B and with a circulating supply of 166 million tokens.

One of the reasons for this growth has to do with Binance’s policy of helping to accelerate its use by offering discounts on commissions when trading this token. When you buy or sell Bitcoin with Tether or USDC, for example, you must pay the corresponding fees. However, if you use BNB, the exchange offers discounts that can go as high as 25% – previously 50%.

However, the hottest objection on the lips of BNB detractors is the fact that it’s under the control of a centralized exchange that could decide to change course in the currency in the future and therefore, change the rules of the game. The most extreme detractors say that on any given day Changpeng Zhao – Binance founder – could wake up in a bad mood and decide to generate more tokens, which would negatively affect the price of the asset – lowing its price.

I already mentioned above that to prevent the currency from depreciating, Binance burns a number of BNB tokens every so often. In this way, a part of the profits it makes every three months is used by Binance to buy back BNB and burn it. The idea behind this is the same behind Bitcoin, produce scarcity: as there are fewer coins in circulation, the price should either hold or rise.

Binance and regulators

I also mentioned earlier that one of the main advantages of Binance Coin is that it’s backed by a huge exchange such as Binance. However, this could soon work against it. The reason for this is that the main cryptocurrency exchange is under the scrutiny of regulatory bodies around the world and almost every week, there is news that speaks of new conditions that the company must endure.

One of the latest news related to this is that the UK financial watchdog banned its operation in its territory, so the exchange had to suspend the purchase of cryptocurrencies with the Pound Sterling (GBP). Also, authorities in some countries don’t welcome the fact that Binance’s corporate structure remains opaque. This and others are some of the reasons why the exchange was forced to implement identity verification or KYC – among other things – for all its users in August of this year.

Although the Binance ecosystem is growing along with its BNB tokens, it’s important to be cautious due to this and other scenarios related to the exchange

Is Binance Coin halal?

Is Binance Coin halal? According to scholars who generally view cryptocurrencies as halal, yes. Scholars have also noted that Binance Coin (BNB) is halal. Scholars note that BNB is a utility coin that serves a function on a blockchain that is also seen as halal. Scholars would normally classify BNB as an asset and not a currency.

Conclusion

Binance Coin can be a good opportunity for those investors that are really active on the Binance platform. Likewise, it can be used as a good investment asset if it’s operated at the right times and with a solid strategy. In this way, Binance Coin can be a solid option as long as it isn’t overly affected by regulatory factors.

In addition, being tied to a centralized exchange like Binance, BNB also lacks privacy for the user – but only if this is a weighted factor for the user. In any case, remember that before investing, you should always do a thorough analysis of the risks and benefits.

And in the end, Allah knows best.

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The recent news that Facebook – the company behind the social network – changed its name to Meta is seeking to lead the development of the Metaverse, hiring a workforce of more than 10,000 people in Europe alone and investing billions of dollars, is sparking conversations around the world. Mark Zuckerberg wishes to establish himself as the leader of the next technological revolution on the internet that seeks to move us from surfing the web to “living” in it.

In fact, when asked why so much enthusiasm for the idea of the Metaverse, Zuckerberg himself responded: “We believe the metaverse will be the successor to the mobile internet.” However, and even with all the hype that is causing what many call “the internet of the future” or “the next technological revolution,” there are still many people confused and wondering:

What exactly is the metaverse?

In its simplest definition, the metaverse is a virtual world to which we can connect using a series of devices that will make us think, feel, and/or believe that we’re really immersed inside that world interacting with all the elements that are part of it. It’d be something like teleporting to a totally new alternate world by merely using virtual reality glasses and other complementary devices, such as virtual reality gloves.

Are virtual worlds new?

Some will think, however, that this is nothing new since virtual worlds have existed for a long time, especially in the videogames sector; you choose a game, create a character or avatar and enter that world to live adventures, either through mobile, PC, or console. However, the metaverse seeks to be much more than a fantasy world in which to spend hours playing; it’s a kind of an alternate reality in which we can do almost the same activities that we do in physical reality, but without moving from our place.

The term metaverse comes from the 1992 novel “Snow Crash” by science fiction writer Neal Stephenson, and is a term that has been used ever since to describe visions of virtual or three-dimensional workspaces. The metaverse then refers to a virtual world with which we can interact and whose purpose is to resemble physical reality.

Now, the metaverse that Facebook and other large corporations are investing in consists of a parallel and digital universe that we can access with virtual and augmented reality devices so that we can interact with each other within it. The idea is that this metaverse is totally immersive, much more than current virtual reality is. For this, it’d be necessary to use eyeglasses possibly very similar to normal eyeglasses and also different sensors that register our physical movements so that our avatar does exactly the same as us.

It’s even possible to make the devices we use interpret and represent our facial expressions in the metaverse so that the rest of the people with whom we are interacting with can understand us much better. Another idea behind the Metaverse is to give us total freedom of creation, both for our avatar and for our environments and rooms for personal use.

If we look at how the internet is today, it’s full of virtual communities that we can access from different devices, and in the end, we interact with more people digitally than physically. The metaverse would be another step forward to unite the physical world with the virtual world mixing both in a new universe managed by large companies or even by communities, as happens today with many blockchain networks; a plot similar to what we saw in the movie Ready Player One.

Is the Metaverse real?

Up to a certain point. Due to different circumstances, such as rising real estate prices, socioeconomic inequality, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the new generations of young people in some countries, especially in Asia and Latin America, are seeing important economic opportunities in virtual worlds, especially if they have something to do with the metaverse.

Remember that the new form of play-to-earn videogames, such as Decentraland or Axie Infinity, has taken the concept of a traditional videogame and has transformed it into a new reality in which it’s possible to earn an income from the game. This has also been possible thanks to new developments and platforms based on blockchain technology, such as NFTs and Enjin.

The so-called MZ generation, the one that was born and grew up with full internet connectivity, is now part of the “untact” subculture, one that describes activities and interactions without any kind of physical contact.

In countries like South Korea or the Philippines, young people flock to these alternative worlds represented by these games as their primary way of making money and surviving. For them, it is something very real, in the sense that it’s as normal as it’d be to watch a TV program for previous generations.

When we watch a TV series, at times, we live the experience as if it were real, even when we understand that it’s only an artistic interpretation. When it comes to younger generations and videogames something similar happens; they know that it isn’t real, but at times they live it as if it were.

This is what is known as hyperrealism, a concept established by the philosopher and sociologist Jean Baudrillard, who points out that under certain circumstances, simulation and reality can be mixed in such a way that at times it is very difficult to distinguish one from the other, reaching a point where virtual reality has more value than “real reality.”

The metaverse could then end up becoming a kind of escape from the calamities that people experience in their own physical reality; a natural behavior in the human being that can take all kinds of forms, including illegal substances.

Is the Metaverse safe?

One of Mark Zuckerberg’s ambitions for some years now is to see how the internet envelops us to the point that we’re able to live within it. Something like what happens in The Matrix or Ready Player One. But parallel to this, he is also obsessed with increasing the security of his social network, which is always in the hurricane’s eye due to its data leaks and the misuse of the personal information of its users.

Based on this, would it be possible to trust a virtual network as ambitious as the one proposed by Facebook?

If there is already a risk that they’ll trade our personal data or purchasing trends for a profit, what would happen when a company can record our physiological responses, our tone of voice, or what we are doing physically at that precise moment?

While it’s true that many of the people who say they distrust Facebook continue to use their apps, like Instagram and WhatsApp on a daily basis, will they do the same with the metaverse?

The reality is that without trust, Meta’s plans are already at risk of failing. Although Facebook has been improving the security and privacy of its portal, recent scandals have sunk the company’s corporate image, condemning it to be less and less relevant to younger users. This could also happen with other companies that wish to participate in the development of the metaverse.

Like everything new and especially in the field of technology, it’s normal that there are doubts and mistrust, but in something as ambitious, promising, and imposing as what Meta proposes, it’s essential that they integrate privacy and security from the first day into the project. Otherwise, there will be problems for sure.

Advantages of the Metaverse

As with the internet, the metaverse will present a series of features that will bring a great number of benefits in all areas, as well as a series of problems inherent in its nature. We will live and interact – and our children – using these platforms, so it’s very important to understand the pros and cons of this new technological promise.

So, what are the advantages of the metaverse?

1. Be in contact with other people, friends, and family in an easy and immediate way. We can even meet for coffee – even if it’s virtual.
2. Attend work meetings without leaving our homes.
3. Get to know different cultures and walk the streets of other countries in a virtual way, without having to leave home.
4. In combination with robotics and the Internet of Things, perform work activities remotely.
5. Unleash creativity, especially in the artistic aspect.
6. Participate in cyber communities without having to be in the same city or country.
7. Participate in a new form of online education by being able to attend the classroom virtually.
8. Greater communication possibilities as there is a greater degree of interaction. It will even be possible to interact with products before buying them.

Disadvantages of the Metaverse

1. As with the internet, there will be unsuitable content, including sexual content, violence, illegal gambling, etc.
2. Cyberbullying levels could increase as there is a greater degree of social interaction.
3. It can create addictions that could lead to various problems, such as losing track of time, neglecting health, losing sleep, etc.
4. Social and family relationships could be eroded as some people could get used to exclusive use of the metaverse to interact with other people.

Projects in the Metaverse

Yet, with all the good and the bad that will come with the metaverse, it’s very likely that the metaverse will still end up becoming the new gateway for most digital experiences and the natural successor to the internet. In fact, a variety of use cases are already outlined for this new digital environment, and many large corporations are already working hard on it.

Let’s take a look at projects that are making their way to the metaverse.

Concerts

We could virtually enter a concert in 3D, after seeing a kind of preview on a 2D screen. An example, in 2019 the rapper Travis Scott participated in a concert in Fortnite with an audience of more than 100,000 users.

Work

Companies like Facebook are already promoting spaces that allow users to create their ideal workplace through virtual reality called Horizon Workrooms.

Videogames

A user could get a reward in a videogame and then display it in other instances of the same metaverse to show it to his virtual friends, for example.

Virtual tours

You could go to virtual representations of cities in other countries to know first-hand everything about the city before making the physical trip.

Companies building the Metaverse

Even with all this, the arrival of the metaverse is still far away. A great deal of collaboration is required from numerous companies to create the software and hardware necessary for this parallel universe. Here are some of the companies that are already working on it.

Roblox

For this videogame’s platform, the metaverse represents a good opportunity for people to meet in 3D scenarios where they can live experiences and even work and socialize. The Roblox platform allows you to create digital worlds for your games, as well as offer the possibility of doing business through the platform using its Robux currency.

Microsoft

Microsoft has already announced that they’re developing a business Metaverse (Microsoft Mesh) that could have some resemblance or relationship with the company’s gaming products, Xbox and Minecraft. Phil Spencer himself, executive vice president of Gaming at Microsoft and head of Xbox, stated that they are creating a metaverse that will function as a kind of “mixed reality.”

Nvidia

The multinational Nvidia already has its own virtual reality platform called Omniverse, a metaverse for simulation with professional objectives. This project is typically used to develop simulations of factories or buildings in the real world so that tests can be carried out before carrying out projects in the physical world.

Unity Technologies

The American company Unity Software Inc. is already acquiring companies such as Weta Digital that will allow them to expand services to companies looking to build in the metaverse. Unity Software Inc. is a SaaS company known for providing tools that produce breathtaking 3D content for videogames and other industries.

Autodesk

This company, which is dedicated to developing 2D and 3D design software for different types of industries, recently launched its first virtual augmented reality glasses for developers who want to experiment with new modalities in their creations.

Tencent

Tencent is a Chinese technology multinational provider of internet products and services and is the largest videogame company in the world. It seems that the multinational doesn’t want to be left behind when entering the metaverse, so it has already registered some trademarks related to the creation of this virtual environment.

Epic Games

The company behind the great success of the Fortnite videogame. The game that has already expanded the experience of its users beyond the normal activities of the game, towards social experiences such as organizing parties and virtual concerts. Epic Games has already secured $1 billion dollars to invest in metaverse projects.

Amazon

The number one company in e-commerce is also the largest cloud service provider in the world. This fact makes it a potential collaborator in the development of the metaverse. In 2020, Amazon invested more than $40 billion in the development of different technologies related to artificial intelligence.

Is the Metaverse halal?

Generally speaking, yes, the metaverse is halal. As we’ve touched on before, the metaverse is merely a virtual world or a multitude of digital platforms that simulate the organic world we live in that people are able to participate in or experience through different technologies and this in and of itself is halal.

However, this does not mean that all aspects of the metaverse are halal. As the building of the metaverse evolves we can say with a high degree of certainty that there will be virtual platforms that are either specifically built for or have some portion or areas of it dedicated to haram activities and this is where scholars will look at the intent and purpose of the virtual platform and derive halal, makruh, or haram rulings accordingly.

In a previous article – Decentraland – Is Virtual Real Estate Legit? – I have already mentioned that Muslims must remember that Allah clearly states in the Quran that He is, “Lord of all the worlds”. This also includes the worlds of the metaverse. All of it, organic or virtual, fall under the dominion of Allah, and Muslims must uphold the same Islamic principles of muamalat (just dealings with people in a social and economic manner) and observe the rights of Allah and His creation in any world they participate in.

Muslims are ambassadors of Islam no matter what world they are in so may Allah guide the Muslims to be of benefit and light in whatever world they are found in, Ameen.

Conclusion

As of now, the metaverse is just a concept that is beginning to be built. Although the idea has been around for some time now, it has been Meta that has taken the lead in making the effort to turn it into a reality. Only time will tell how this all unfolds but the concept of the metaverse is surely moving forward and as such, it is for humanity to always remember that Allah is Rabbul Alameen.

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