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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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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Videogames have been with us for around 50 years and in all this time, we have seen how this form of entertainment has evolved in a remarkable way; from something as basic as Pong or Tetris to the open worlds of Zelda.

However, we know that the evolution of videogames goes hand in hand with technology, so it was inevitable that a technology like blockchain would sooner or later become part of modern gaming.

Today, thanks to the new “Play-to-Earn” genre, players can earn money while playing and even use such games as a form of investment.

Industry analysts show strong signs that the videogame industry will continue growing and with this growth, will come new opportunities to make money. For that reason, today I present, 9 Blockchain Games to Earn Money. A list of what I consider to be the Play-to-Earn games with the greatest potential of the moment. Insha’Allah, you find one that fits your needs.

1. Axie Infinity

Buy adorable monsters, raise them, put them to fight each other, and earn money with it. That’s what Axie Infinity, the most popular blockchain/NFT game of the moment is all about.

Axie Infinity has a similar mechanic to that of the popular Pokémon, only that instead of gaining experience when fighting – either against the AI or against other players – your monsters (Axies) earn SLP tokens, which you can later exchange for real money.

In Axie Infinity, both the Axies and the game plots are represented by NFTs and that’s the key to this matter. The game runs on Ethereum and uses Ronin, an independent wallet to speed up transactions.

What you need to play Axie Infinity

To start, you’ll need to create a Ronin wallet and also have an Ethereum wallet, transfer ETH to Ronin, create an account on the Axie Infinity website, and download the game on your device.

After this, you’ll need to buy three Axies to form a fighting team. At the time of publishing this blog post, acquiring a “decent” monster for combat costs about $500, so the initial investment can be around $1,500 – although you can also opt for a scholarship to play for free.

Is it easy to earn money?

Although the initial cost can be very high for many players, Axie Infinity is a game with wide possibilities that rewards players the more time and effort they put into it. It also has other options to earn money, such as token staking, Axies breeding, and buying/selling virtual plots.

2. Alien Worlds

Alien Worlds is a game in which players can explore and mine on different planets, use weapons, artifacts, and minions in space battles. In Alien Worlds you can win Trilium (TLM), a cryptocurrency token that you get through real crypto mining represented in the game, in addition to NFTs for free.

TLM is a token that joins the Wax and Ethereum blockchains and allows the economies of both chains to function as one. Subsequently, you can trade and sell both TLMs and NFTs on various exchanges and earn money from them.

What you need to play Alien Worlds

Getting started in Alien Worlds is as simple as creating a wallet in Wax Cloud Wallet and an account on the game’s official website associating your Wax wallet.

It’s also possible to start in Alien Worlds without investing any money. In this case, you start with a standard character and a shovel, then travel to different planets to find Trilium. During mining, there is a chance to find some NFT for free.

Is it easy to earn money?

In Alien Worlds, it’s possible to earn a good amount of money, but this will depend a lot on several factors, including the quality and quantity of your tools, as well as the planet you are mining on. In many cases, at the time of publishing this blog post, there is the possibility of finding NFTs with a value between $30 and $40, and even more valuable ones.

3. CryptoBlades

CryptoBlades is a web browser RPG released on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) that also uses NFT technology. The game revolves around obtaining powerful swords and fighting in an epic fantasy world. CryptoBlades also rewards players with cryptocurrency tokens called SKILL, when they participate in battles against other players and in some in-game challenges.

In addition to that, you can also upgrade your characters and weapons as you progress through the game, which also serves to increase your earnings.

What you need to play CryptoBlades

To get started in CryptoBlades, you only need a web browser and a compatible wallet configured for BSC. Once you have connected your wallet to the game’s DApp, you should have at least 0.5 SKILL on hand, something quite inexpensive compared to other similar games.

Is it easy to earn money?

In CryptoBlades you have the possibility to forge new and more powerful weapons to increase your chances of winning more SKILL. In addition to earning money from battles, you can also claim daily SKILL bonuses, trade in-game, and put your tokens on staking.

4. MegaCryptoPolis 3D

MegaCryptoPolis 3D (MCP3D) is a game that focuses on building cities. As a user, you can run the game through any browser, including your mobile phone, while in-game assets are stored on the Ethereum and TRON blockchains, where the game runs.

As a player, you can create your own buildings or just rent them, produce new construction materials, new generations of citizens, create services, place ads, tour the city, and more. All this while earning money in the form of $MEGA tokens.

What you need to play MegaCryptoPolis 3D

Being based on the Ethereum and TRON blockchains, you’ll need a digital wallet compatible with these networks, acquire some ETH or TRX, depending on the network you choose, and start buying blocks of virtual land on the city map before proceeding to create buildings. Each lot of land is represented as an ERC-721 token that you can transfer and trade as a cryptocurrency on external markets.

Is it easy to earn money?

Each building in MCP3D is represented by an NFT. Take into account that you can do everything in the game related to construction and real estate, so the options to earn money are many. On the other hand, you don’t even need a building or land to play; you can buy game assets on the market and sell them at a higher price when they go up in price, either whole or even in parts to earn more money.

5. The Sandbox

The Sandbox is an Ethereum-based open virtual world that allows players to build, play, own, and monetize their virtual gaming experiences and ideas.

In The Sandbox, you’ll find 3D modeling software tools that will allow you to create your own voxel assets and then move on to animate your creations, which can be anything, including people, tools, monsters, buildings, etc.

Finally, you can export your creations in The Sandbox, to The Sandbox Marketplace, where you can sell them in the form of NFTs.

What you need to play The Sandbox

Once you have created and configured your Ethereum wallet, you need to buy LAND. These LANDs are chunks of virtual land on which you can shape your NFT creations. Once you do this, you get SAND, The Sandbox’s native utility token that is used throughout the ecosystem to perform transactions.

Is it easy to earn money?

The key to making money is in the quantity and quality of your creations: the more of these two factors you have, the more SAND you will get.

Then you can use this SAND as a means of exchange in The Marketplace or other external markets, or invest part of your SAND tokens to earn additional rewards thanks to staking. With SAND’s current price around $1, this may be a very good option.

6. Crazy Defense Heroes

Crazy Defense Heroes (CDH) is a game developed and published by Animoca Brands. It’s the largest and most expanded version of the Crazy Kings game, which was released on iOS in 2017 and Android in 2018.

CDH belongs to the popular “defend the tower” genre, but it has a somewhat more complete gameplay enriched with elements such as resource gathering, new heroes, buildings, and spells.

This app offers you more than 500 levels of frantic gameplay, in addition to the possibility of playing against real opponents in strategic online PvP games. On top of that, being based on Ethereum, you can earn TOWER tokens as you progress in your adventure.

What you need to play Crazy Defense Heroes

For starters, Crazy Defense Heroes is a free-to-play game, so you don’t need to make any initial investment to start playing. What you’ll need is to link your game account to your Ethereum wallet to claim your rewards or buy tokens to make purchases or exchanges within the game.

Is it easy to earn money?

The more time you spend playing CDH, the more TOWER tokens you will earn. Take into account that it’s possible to acquire better weapons, equipment, and cards to advance within the game and for this, users need TOWER tokens. In this way, you can put your surplus TOWER tokens up for sale on exchanges such as Sushiswap or Uniswap.

7. Ethermon

Ethermon is a game built on the Ethereum network in which you can unleash your passion for collecting monsters, in this case, Ether Mons. You must capture them, put them to fight, and exchange them for other monsters to earn $EMON, the game currency.

Thanks to Ethermon’s smart contracts and their programming, you’ll have the guarantee that your monsters are yours and nobody else’s property and since each monster has a unique and unrepeatable personality and characteristics, you can sell and trade them like any collector’s item.

What you need to play Ethermon

As always, an Ethereum wallet, buy Ether on any reputable exchange, and play to win $EMON.

Like “MonSeeker,” you must interact with smart contracts to achieve three objectives:

• Capture Ethermons – There is a limited number.
• Train your monsters – You can even raise hatchlings from them and then sell or rent them to other players.
• Fight other MonSeekers – You know, more $EMON.

Is it easy to earn money?

As you can see, Ethermon’s mechanics are very similar to those of Axie Infinity. You’ll use $EMON to send your Ethermons on adventures for a chance to find new and exclusive monsters, or buy Ethermon eggs from the shop and see what they hatch.

From time to time, new collections of Ethermons appear available in official stores and since the platform has a limited distribution, the more rare and powerful your monsters are, the more valuable they will be.

8. Lost Relics

Lost Relics is an RPG action game similar to the famous Diablo, in which you must explore dungeons full of enemies to meet certain objectives. However, the game also has some roguelike touches, so the difficulty is somewhat higher.

The best thing about this game is that you can find items in the form of NFTs based on the Enjin blockchain, which gives them value in the cryptocurrency market.

You can have several roles within the game including miner, fisherman, alchemist, blacksmith, and depending on which one you choose, you can obtain specific benefits.

What you need to play Lost Relics

You will need to have an Enjin wallet in order to transfer the NFT items you find in the game to sell them on the Enjin marketplace. The game is Free-to-Play, but note that you will need to have a – more or less – powerful computer to play, with a graphics card of at least 8GB RAM.

Is it easy to earn money?

The game requires some time and dedication to gain experience and level points. As you progress, the chances of getting more and better NFT items to sell on the market also increase.

Meanwhile, you can accumulate “gold coins.” This is another type of incentive that you can get by completing an adventure – and sporadically in barrels or boxes – and that are used to carry out in-game transactions – something similar to Runescape gold.

9. Upland

Upland is a Play-to-Earn game based on the EOS blockchain, in which users can build, buy, sell, and trade virtual properties assigned to the real world to earn UPX coins. The project uses blockchain to link each property within Upland to an NFT.

Thanks to its recent partnership with Tilia Pay, Upland users can now sell their NFT virtual assets through the Second Life payment network, which supports PayPal to withdraw their earnings in USD. This should give you an idea of the capabilities of the platform.

What you need to play Upland

You can start the game by registering on the official website and connecting your compatible EOS wallet. The game is also available for iOS and Android.

In addition to this, you’ll need UPX to be able to carry out in-game transactions. The good part is that when you first sign up, the game gives you a welcome bonus of several thousand UPX. But it’s certain that sooner or later, you’ll need to buy more UPX in the game.

Is it easy to earn money?

Each property you build or acquire will generate passive income in the form of UPX. The problem is that they generate a very low monthly income. Another perhaps more profitable option is collections, which are nothing more than a certain number of properties in some specific place on the map. These collections can give you additional benefits in the form of bonuses.

Is playing video games halal?

Is playing video games halal? Yes, scholars say that it is permissible to play video games so long as the focus and/or content of the video game is not on haram things such as murder, stealing, gambling, nudity, etc. Also, the video game must not promote hate towards or the destruction of Islam and if you are earning money from playing video games, then the money should not come from prize money that is sourced from the collection of contestant fees.

And even though playing video games is halal, scholars still do not encourage it as playing video games may lead some to neglect the rights of Allah, others, or even themselves by forgetting prayer times, not giving proper time to one’s spouse, or other necessary obligations.

For a more in-depth perspective on the permissibility of playing video games, please see the article, Axie Infinity Overview and is Axie Infinity Halal?

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Nowadays it’s becoming more and more common to hear conversations between teenagers such as the following:

– Hey! Do you play Axie?
– Of course! I can’t complain, Alhumdulilah I make around $900 a month. What about you?
– Yeah. I just started a few months ago, but I’m already close to $400…

It’s the boom of the moment, a new trend in the videogame industry that was birthed from the crypto world.

I’m not talking about a simple game with which to kill leisure time, but about a video game that has already generated more than $400 million in profits and is placed in the top position among “play-to-earn” games.

It turns out that thanks to blockchain technology, it’s now possible to make a lot of money by playing videogames related to the crypto world, and one of the best examples of this is Axie Infinity.

To give you some idea of just how popular and transformative this game has been for some, know that Axie Infinity is already considered by many as the “Bitcoin” of NFT-based videogames, and its popularity has reached the point that in some countries, people are paying their bills and quitting their jobs thanks to the income they earn playing the game. Madness or a playful crypto revolution?

Let’s figure that out today with an Axie Infinity Overview while also exploring, is Axie Infinity halal? Yallah!! (Let’s go!)

What is Axie Infinity?

Axie Infinity is a Player-vs-Player (PvP) and Play-to-Earn online video game developed in 2018 by the Vietnamese company Sky Mavis and based on the Ethereum blockchain technology.

In Axie Infinity, as a player, you can create characters that have the appearance of monsters in the Pokémon style – in fact, Axie is inspired by this famous game – called Axies and that are represented in the form of NFT tokens, thus becoming cryptographic collectibles that you can later improve to put them in battles against other Axies and make some virtual money.

You can later use that money in the form of cryptocurrency tokens to improve your character’s strengths and abilities, get new monsters or sell them on the market for higher profits.

These characteristics have made Axie Infinity one of the most interesting games in the crypto world, already surpassing veteran platforms such as Sorare or CryptoKitties.

What is the goal of Axie Infinity?

The main goal of the game is to collect the best Axies and put them to fight against other players or against the artificial intelligence in the game. In this way, the more powerful your creatures are, the more possibilities you’ll have when facing other players and therefore, to make more money in battles as your level increases.

Axies can be improved because each one has a series of unique features that you can improve as you carry out activities in the game, which include battles, as well as missions, and other extra activities. But as I already mentioned, the most interesting thing about these creatures is that thanks to blockchain/NFT technology, each Axie has a set of unique and unrepeatable features.

This is reflected in the fact that each Axie has unique “digital genetics” that gives it characteristics that make it more or less efficient in combat, depending on each situation. For example, a particular Axie could have been “born” with great resistance to fire attacks. Your duty as a breeder is then raising it in the best possible way so that it develops this ability to the max level.

If you’ve ever played Pokémon, you may notice that Axie Infinity’s dynamic is very similar to that of the popular game by Nintendo.

What are AXS and SLP tokens in Axie Infinity?

Axie Infinity has two unique tokens based on the Ethereum blockchain technology which are called AXS and SLP tokens. Let’s take a closer look at what each one of them consists of.

AXS Token

AXS stands for Axie Infinity Shard and consists of an ERC-20 type token that allows players to receive rewards for their participation in the game. For example, if you wish, you can take all your AXS and stake them and earn extra AXS tokens as a reward for supporting the Axie ecosystem. These AXS tokens also serve to participate in the game’s decentralized governance, in addition to serving as a form of support for the community treasury that helps drive the development of the entire ecosystem.

The AXS token was made public in November 2020, which is one of the reasons why this token is not yet fully functional. However, it’s easy to see that the AXS token was created to offer access to a decentralized finance system to incentivize and make future development and improvement of the game easier.

I should highlight that AXS has a limited supply of 270,000,000 tokens, which makes it a scarce resource with good potential to increase its value in the future insha’Allah.

SLP Token

SLP or Smooth Love Potion, is another token of the ERC-20 type that is used so that players can receive their rewards when winning battles within Axie Infinity. As it’s a PvP game, when you win each battle, you should receive experience points or XP – which is the norm for PvP games – but in Axie Infinity, instead of XP, you receive SLP tokens that you can later use as you wish.

These SLP tokens are essential within the game since, for example, if you want to start breeding an Axie, you must have at least 100 SLP to be able to do so. Each upgrade or enhancement you want to make to an Axie, will have a specific cost in SLP, and the more Axies you’d like to have or the better the Axie you’d like to own, then the more SLP you will need.

Is Axie Infinity safe to play or invest in?

As has happened – and continues happening – with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and more recently with NFTs, a debate directly linked to these two types of crypto assets also falls on Axie Infinity. In this sense, many people wonder:

Is Axie Infinity a financial bubble?

Is it safe to invest in Axie Infinity?

It’s easy to understand that these questions will arise for many, especially every time a new boom appears in the crypto world that generates exorbitant amounts of money overnight, but you should remember that the possibility of making money playing blockchain games is indeed real. After all, we already know that it’s possible to make money professionally by playing videogames such as eSports games.

But in addition to eSports games, for many years, there has also been a gray market on the internet where users of certain games can make an economic exchange that moves millions of dollars a year.

Some of these games that generate millions of dollars in revenue per year would be World of Warcraft or Runescape, to name just a few examples.

Now, thanks to blockchain, developers have been able to create and promote a new business model in videogames. Axie Infinity has demonstrated that it’s possible to generate an entire internal economy in a game, strong enough for players to keep motivated to dedicate more and more time to this activity, even professionally.

In the Philippines and Vietnam, it’s already happening; there are people who have quit their jobs to earn money playing Axie Infinity and other similar games. It’s not the first time that this type of action has taken place, especially with projects that move huge amounts of money.

However, even with the enormous figures that Axie Infinity moves, it’s also true that the economic return can have its terrible ups and downs.

What Axie Infinity has done is take advantage of the NFT trend and the speculation that exists around that sector, to get the attention of the masses. But be that as it may, for many, this is a serious investment, not just a game.

Today, thousands of users pay 20 times more than what a next-generation console game is worth to enter the game in the hope of recovering their investment and obtaining superior benefits. And so far, the business model works.

But what if a strong competitor – or several – arrives overnight and makes the game lose popularity?

The entire game economy could be affected as users lose interest and NFT items lose value. After all, there is a certain level of risk when investing in blockchain games.

So when it comes to playing or investing in Axie Infinity, as always, the key factor here is to be cautious, do your research, and never invest more money than you can afford to lose. Muslims should not take extreme risks with investments; always being mindful of the provision that Allah has given them and who they are responsible for with that provision.

What do I need to play Axie Infinity?

If you’ve already gotten excited about Axie Infinity and want to ride this new wave, here’s a rundown of what you need to get started.

Create an account at Axie Infinity

The first thing to do is create an account with the MetaMask crypto wallet, and another in Ronin Wallet, the latter from the official Sky Mavis website.

In MetaMask you must have funds in Ether – the Ethereum currency – which you must then transfer to the Ronin wallet, which is the one used internally in Axie Infinity.

Then, from Ronin, you must transfer the money to buy the first three Axies necessary to start playing. At the time of writing this blog, the cost would be a total of about $1,200. Although, if you don’t have this amount of money, you can try to get a scholarship to play for free – more on this later insha’Allah (God willing).

After spending some time playing and accumulating victories, you can withdraw Axies to your Ronin wallet in the form of Ether, the second most important cryptocurrency, and exchange this for fiat money or spend it in the many online stores that accept the currency.

How do I play Axie Infinity?

As I mentioned before, the game is similar to Pokémon, only that the abilities of the Axies are reflected in cards. In this case, each monster has a series of features such as:

• Type – fish, beast, etc.
• Amount of damage it can cause
• Health levels
• Skill levels
• Special abilities
• Roles

Among others.

As a player, your goal is to strategically combine cards that reflect the abilities of your Axies to attack your opponents and try to defeat them. The player with the last Axie standing is the winner of the match. It’s as simple as that.

But again, what if you don’t have money to start playing Axie Infinity? Well, you could look into getting an Axie scholarship.

What are Axie scholarships?

A scholarship at Axie Infinity allows a novice user to receive an Axie for rent so that they can start playing and earning SLPs. These earnings will then be divided between the player, the Axie owner, and the scholarship manager, resulting in all users making a profit.

So, Axie Scholarships are comprised of three:

1. A person who owns Axies to lend out to players
2. A Scholarship Manager who manages the players
3. A Player or one who is in need of Axies and is willing to play once they are lent Axies to play with

To qualify for a scholarship, you only need to have enough time to play, a desire to learn, and a commitment to following the scholarship guidelines. Take into account that in this case, both the owner of the Axie and the administrator, or scholarship manager, are trusting you to generate profits and distribute them.

If you are interested in obtaining a scholarship, you can try to apply through the official Axie Infinity Discord channel in the scholarships section. From there you can apply, but you must be prepared to demonstrate your skills and motivation.

And here’s a pretty good article that gives step-by-step details on how to create and manage an Axie Scholarship if you are interested in doing so.

How to make money with Axie Infinity

Currently, there are several methods to earn money playing Axie Infinity, let’s take a look at a few of them.

Fighting

The most obvious method is to fight other players in the arena, or in adventure mode against the AI. Every day, you’ll receive a certain amount of energy to be able to fight and thus earn SLP, which you can then exchange for fiat money, and even other cryptocurrencies. At the time of writing this article, you can possibly generate between $8 to $40 per day.

Breeding Axies

You can also make money by buying Axies and breeding them. Once you get new hatchlings, you can try trading them for Ether. In this case, the price of each Axie will be different depending on its characteristics, as well as the supply and demand in the game – the cheapest Axie costs about $300. You can also offer your Axies in scholarships for other players to use.

Staking

Axie Infinity has plans to allow AXS token holders to stake their AXS tokens within the Axie universe.

Axie Infinity developers would like to see Axie Infinity become a more decentralized ecosystem and has thus developed a reward system that will reward additional AXS tokens to those who not only stake their AXS tokens within the Axie universe, but also actively play Axie Infinity, and also participate in governance initiatives by voting on community projects.

Staking is normally seen as a passive way to earn income, but with Axie Infinity, staking will require some work. The developers would like to see Axie Infinity’s development and growth come from its community and believe that the best way for this to happen is through active participation, and this is why its reward system is designed to reward those who not only stake, but will actively play, and actively vote on project initiatives. So, we cannot say that staking on Axie Infinity is merely passive. It will require some effort from the one who stakes.

At the time of writing this blog post, staking has not been initiated on Axie Infinity so we do not know the following:

• We do not know how long one has to stake their AXS tokens to receive rewards. 3 months? 6 months? One year? We don’t know as of yet
• We do not know how often one has to play Axie Infinity in order to qualify to receive staking rewards
• We do not know how often one must participate in governance voting or voting on community projects in order to qualify to receive rewards

Insha’Allah the developers of Axie Infinity will make this clear in due time as it appears that many people seem eager to participate in staking on Axie.

Buying and selling virtual lands

Currently, it’s possible to buy plots of virtual land within the metaverse of the game and whose minimum prices are close to $12,000, and wait for prices to rise before selling or even renting them. Some of these lands have been sold for $1.5 million and more!

Is Axie Infinity worth it?

Right now, Axie Infinity may be more or less worth it, depending on the strategy you follow. As I said before, it’s an investment linked to the volatility of cryptocurrencies, so you must measure very well which are your best opportunities based on your investment possibilities. If you have the time and you like to play, this may be the best option, either as the owner of your own Axies or as a user with a scholarship. In this way, you could possibly generate more than $1,000 a month, depending on your abilities.

Now, if you don’t want to play, remember that Axie Infinity offers several ways to invest in the game that can be more or less profitable. You can take advantage of the current boom in NFTs by buying or selling Axies or if you have the money, buy and sell virtual lands, and new ways of generating income are sure to come in the future if the game maintains its popularity insha’Allah. Just remember to always do proper research before you invest and never invest what you are not willing to lose.

Is Axie Infinity halal?

Is Axie Infinity halal? When examining a consensus of fatawa (legal opinions) from scholars as it relates to playing video games and earning money from playing video games, then we would say, yes, Axie Infinity is halal but not encouraged. Axie Infinity is not a game of chance, nor is the game structured as a tournament where prize money is given from participant registration fees as a reward, nor does the content and theme of the game conflict with Islamic principles, so we can say that it would be permissible to play and earn income from Axie Infinity but scholars still would encourage players to find another means of earning income.

As for the AXS and SLP tokens, scholars who generally rule that cryptocurrency is halal would consider AXS and SLP as halal. Scholars would consider both tokens as utility tokens and would classify both as assets and not currency.

So now let’s discuss why playing and earning money from Axie Infinity is permissible while at the same time some scholars would still discourage seeking to earn money from Axie Infinity and videogames in general.

Game of Chance

First let’s look at what is called, “game of chance”. “Game of chance” is commonly understood to mean gambling, or getting something too easy, or getting a profit without working for it. This is forbidden in Islam. The ayat in the Quran that clarifies gambling as haram are the following:

“O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone altars [to other than Allah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful. Satan only wants to cause between you animosity and hatred through intoxicants and gambling and to avert you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. So will you not desist?” – Holy Quran, 5:90-91

“They ask you about wine and gambling. Say, “In them is great sin and [yet, some] benefit for people. But their sin is greater than their benefit.” – Holy Quran, 2:219

“Game of chance” does not apply to Axie Infinity as Axie Infinity is a skill-based game where one focuses on building their Axie’s strength and powers through battles and breeding, and in return, they can earn income from selling their Axie NFT or SLP tokens in a marketplace. In other words, Axie Infinity requires effort, strategy, and time. This is not gambling and Axie Infinity is most certainly not a “game of chance”.

For further reading on “game of chance”, please read an excellent Islamic explanation here.

Tournaments and Prize Money

When it comes to earning money, scholars also mention that it is haram to earn money from competition tournaments where prize money is awarded from registration fees paid by those who participate in the tournament. Scholars view this as a form of gambling. The only exception for this is for certain competitions such as horse racing, camel racing, archery, swimming, or activities where the competition could be seen as enhancing one’s knowledge of Islam or training for jihad (defending or protecting the Muslim community).

Earning money from tournament competitions does not apply to Axie Infinity. As mentioned before, the main method of participating in gameplay on the Axie Infinity platform is by purchasing 3 Axies. Once the player has purchased 3 Axies, they can then play against opponents (Arena battle) or the AI (Adventure battle). Money is earned by selling Axie NFTs or SLP tokens or lending out Axies via a scholarship program. There is no registration fee and no grand prize money to win.

For further reading on tournaments and prize money, please read Islamic opinion here.

Theme and Content

Scholars also state that videos games should not go against Islamic principles such as the showing of awrah (intimate parts), using vulgar language, promoting immoral acts such as stealing, cheating, lying, etc., and the game should not promote the destruction of or show hate towards Islam. The theme and content of Axie Infinity do not go against Islamic principles nor does the game promote the immoral.

For further reading, please see an Islamic perspective on electronic games here and another scholar’s opinion on videogames here.

Gharar

However, there are some things to keep in mind for anyone seeking to participate in play-to-earn games. In Islam, it is impermissible to deal in sales, business, or investment transactions that have high or extreme uncertainty. This is commonly referred to as gharar (uncertainty, risk, deception) in the sharia.

It may be that one person invests their surplus money to play Axie Infinity for leisure. This person has a solid understanding of how Axie Infinity works and they are investing money that if they were to lose what they have invested, it would not be of consequence to them or their family.

On the other hand, it may be that you have another person who is desperate and seeking a way to provide for their family. They know only a little of Axie Infinity and have only heard of positive stories of those who are making so much money in the game. This person takes their life’s savings to play with the hopes of supporting his/her family. It is in this situation where a scholar may say that this is impermissible because for this particular individual there is extreme uncertainty and speculation (gharar) as to their investment in Axie Infinity.

So when playing Axie Infinity or any other play-to-earn game, it is important for Muslims to have a proper understanding of what they are getting involved in and to be mindful of how they spend or invest their money, always being mindful of their responsibilities.

Axie scholarships

In Islam it is permissible to receive scholarships, however, it is incumbent upon the Muslim to fulfill their duties of the scholarship they have received assuming the obligations of the scholarship are halal. So, as long as the Axie Scholarship does not request or require the player to engage in what is haram then it is seen as permissible.

Why some scholars do not encourage playing

Finally, when it comes to playing Axie Infinity, or any videogame for that matter, we must always keep in mind how much time we devote to this activity. As Muslims, we know that when we meet Allah, one of the things that we will be questioned on is how we utilized our time.

There are some who will play Axie Infinity for income to support their family and there are others who will simply play for leisure. Regardless of where they fall, as Muslims, we should be cognizant of how much time we spend on this activity being mindful to not let this activity take away from the rights of Allah, others, or even ourselves.

And this is the concern of scholars. Scholars realize that it can be easy to find ourselves consumed in gameplay only to end up wasting time, especially if there is no true benefit of gameplay. Scholars encourage that we use our time to engage in what will benefit us in both this life and the next and see video games as a possible distraction.

This is not to say that one cannot play from time to time for leisure or even to earn income, but even for the latter, scholars recommend seeking other means of seeking income.

Conclusion

In recent years, several games have emerged to take advantage of the boom in cryptocurrencies and NFTs, generating a lot of money for both developers and users. In addition to helping generate real money for players, these games have also contributed to creating an entire ecosystem, a community, and a new economy that is changing various rules in the world, both real and virtual.

And with the growing advent of artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and robotics changing the landscape of the labor market by displacing humans for machines and with the negative effects of fiat currencies leaving nations economically poor, I believe that we will see a growing trend of people trying to find new ways to earn income for their families and they will do so in the metaverse.

The eyes of those who have large investment capital are seeing the enormous possibilities in the world of cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and the virtual world, and in the future, it is likely that more and more games of this type are going to appear in the market, so it’s time for Muslims to have our eyes wide open to the potential halal possibilities and opportunities in this space always remembering that whether it is the “real” world or the “virtual” world, Allah is Rabbil-‘Alamin, Lord of ALL the worlds.

And in the end, Allah knows best.

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Decentraland is probably the most developed and popular digital world when it comes to digital real estate at the moment, where thousands of users buy and sell – for as much as $900,000 – virtual real estate with freedom and ease, in addition to the security provided by blockchain technology.

So, is virtual real estate legit?

Yes! More and more investors are starting to show great interest in digital lands as a new opportunity to generate income because they have it clear; virtual worlds have enormous potential to display advertising, sell products and services, organize events, and more.

Today, we’ll talk about Decentraland and virtual real estate, what they are, what possibilities they offer for investors, and what the future holds for this new technological trend. Let’s get started.

What is Decentraland?

Decentraland users do not like Decentraland being referred to as just another videogame. And they’ve legitimate reasons.

In reality, Decentraland is a virtual reality platform that works on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain. It’s a platform that allows you to work, build, and create things.

And what can you create in Decentraland?

Virtual worlds. And this is not a reason for tagging it as another Minecraft clone.

Although Decentraland obviously has characteristics of a videogame, it has greater possibilities; users can carry out a wide variety of actions starting from the purchase of virtual parcels of land and the subsequent construction on them. Just as you would do in the real world when buying a piece of land.

But contrary to what happens with video games like “World of Warcraft” or “Minecraft,” Decentraland doesn’t belong to its developers, but to the users themselves, since it’s a “public” digital platform in which there is no central organization that enforces rules. The entire economy of Decentraland is generated and managed by its users.

This means that any user can freely buy and control the content of their digital lands while generating income through construction and other additional activities.

All of this is possible thanks to the use of blockchain technology which allows for the ownership of any plot of digital land without the possibility of falsification.

The idea for Decentraland originated in the minds of Argentines, Esteban Ordano and Ariel Meilich in 2015, but the project took two years to complete its development. Finally, in August 2017, the entrepreneurs held an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) with which they raised 86,206 ether – 26 million dollars at that time – in exchange for MANA tokens, the Decentraland token.

The funds were managed by the Decentraland Foundation to promote the development of the platform, at the same time that they also put into operation the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) to deliver management of the project to its users.

How does Decentraland work?

In Decentraland, users can interact with portions or parcels of virtual land called LAND. These plots of land can be purchased to “build” on in a similar way to what happens in Minecraft – although many users also resell them.

In reality, each portion of LAND is nothing more than a non-fungible token or NFT on which it’s possible to create videogames, 3D objects, applications, digital services, dynamic 3D scenarios, etc. Each LAND parcel measures 16 x 16 meters, but doesn’t have a height limit.

This means that if you want to build a mall in Decentraland, you’d have to acquire a good number of parcels to be able to finish it. In addition, LAND is a scarce resource, something necessary to increase demand and incentivize the creation of quality content.

In order to buy LAND, you must have MANA, Decentraland’s native token, which is used mainly to buy these plots. When many LAND users form communities dedicated to a common theme, these communities are called States or Districts and just like you’d vote in your real-world community, users can also vote in Decentraland to solve any problems that may arise over time.

Now let’s talk about MANA

As I already mentioned, MANA is Decentraland’s native token. It’s an ERC-20 token that is used first of all to buy LAND plots, but which can also be used to pay for goods and services in Decentraland, and the auctions of “Genesis City,” a city created by a group of Argentine developers.

LAND portions were originally sold by Decentraland’s own development team, with a starting price of 1,000 MANA, but now their prices range from 11,000 to several million MANA.

What is virtual real estate?

Before answering this question, it’s important to understand what the metaverse is. Basically, the metaverse is a shared virtual or digital space that aims to imitate or reproduce the characteristics of the real world. This metaverse is packed with millions of possibilities for anyone to fulfill their fantasies. Taking the Minecraft example again, users can do almost anything they can think of, but with the difference that in the metaverse, there are almost no limits.

In fact, Minecraft is a kind of metaverse, only that in this case, the environment depends a lot on the developers in order to for it to evolve.

In the metaverse, users can buy virtual real estate, just as we would when buying a piece of land in the real world, with the difference that the portion of virtual land that you buy in the metaverse, only exists in that specific metaverse.

Many of these virtual worlds have their own cryptocurrencies, as it happens with MANA in Decentraland, and several companies are already working on the possibility of creating a single and global metaverse that allows communication and interaction between all the metaverses out there – a new kind of 3D Internet?

Another difference with videogames is that in the metaverse, there is no predefined goal; the idea is that users can have social and economic interaction with each other in a virtual and open world with near infinite possibilities. The use of Blockchain technology guarantees the legitimacy of commercial transactions, allowing users to be real owners of their own avatar, plot, building, store, etc.

Blockchain and NFT technologies help to give a sense of real belonging to each user. In other words, they are proprietary.

For example, a user can build a house, convert it into an NFT token, and then put it up for sale on the market. If another user buys the house, he can then place it on his own virtual plot and add other NFT objects to it.

And not only that, in these virtual spaces, be it a house or a football stadium, it’s possible to experience the feeling of presence and social interaction at parties, walks, festivals, concerts, sporting events, dinners, games, etc. All of this allows the development of a virtual economy with the potential to extend into the real world, as is the case with cryptocurrencies and NFTs.

Is virtual real estate legitimate?

Many people were asking the same question years ago when Bitcoin appeared for the first time and later other cryptocurrencies followed it – and recently with NFTs.

The short answer is yes. Virtual real estate is a new investment opportunity.

As with real-world real estate, in the metaverse, users and investors can exchange, buy and sell virtual real estate as if it were just another NFT token. The difference is that when you buy a virtual plot of land, instead of acquiring an NFT artwork and a private key, you acquire a digital space to do and create whatever virtual reality allows you.

Thanks to blockchain technology, these virtual terrain tokens have a recognizable value that users can exchange for products or services from the metaverse itself, as well as from the real world. In addition, everything is publicly registered.

I do believe that Decentraland has probably laid the foundations for a new business model of upcoming developments in virtual worlds.

Why are people buying virtual real estate?

Many people still doubt whether they should invest in this. Consider the following: the price of virtual real estate continues growing and there are still no clear signs that the opposite will happen. This is the same that happens with any new technology in which some visionary people see economic potential; there is a race in which everyone wants to get the best positions.

Just look at how the demand for NFTs has increased in the last two years. More and more people want to enter this world, which causes prices to rise due to the shortage of virtual land. In fact, the demand for parcels in central areas in some of these virtual worlds is growing considerably, which is an indicator of where the market is going.

As I said at the beginning, investors know that virtual spaces offer near endless possibilities to monetize them and generate income in the medium and long term. Blockchain, NFTs, and virtual real estate are taking society to the next level of information technology.

It’s more than likely that before long, an increasing percentage of people will spend more time at home visiting galleries, shops, and events in virtual reality.

What can you do with virtual real estate?

As indicated in the Decentraland whitepaper on its official website, users can develop the following activities.

Applications

Users can develop applications in a 3D environment to provide interaction with other users.

Content Curation

This is possible thanks to the development of communities around large concentrations of virtual parcels, such as neighborhoods, parks, etc.

Advertising

Many brands are buying and renting virtual spaces to put up their billboards.

Collectibles

The NFT collectibles fever has spread to virtual worlds.

Social connections

The metaverse presents a new way of interacting and relating that goes beyond ordinary social networks.

But the possibilities are near endless. As with any property in the real world, what makes the difference in the virtual world is what users do with their properties, including:

Art galleries

Where different artists can display their NFT digital artworks.

Videogames

From Tetris clones, to 3D platforms in the style of Mario games.

Musical events

Where your favorite nasheed singer, entertainer, artist, public speaker, or favorite sheikh (Islamic scholar), can perform, teach, or speak in front of potentially unlimited audiences.

In summary; the virtual world offered by the metaverse allows interaction between brands and potential consumers.

Is Decentraland a good investment?

For all the good it has to offer, the world of virtual real estate also presents challenges for investors. As with any type of investment, this is an issue that must be carefully analyzed in order to avoid mistakes.

The market for NFTs continues growing, which augurs the same for digital lands, but there is still a long way to go to achieve the mass adoption of this technology. As with volatility in the cryptocurrency market, the value of NFTs is also volatile. However, the value of a virtual land also depends on how its owner develops it.

In this sense, there is no doubt that Decentraland will continue growing and expanding since virtual real estate represents a new opportunity with a high economic potential that in the near future could be worth much more than it is now.

As always, if you’re planning to invest, just remember to always do research and take proper precautions.

How can you buy virtual real estate on Decentraland?

Currently, there are two ways to buy parcels on Decentraland, either by purchasing directly on its marketplace or through a separate platform. Today, I’ll talk about the first option, since although the second is similar, it depends on the specific platform.

1. Get a wallet

Remember that the first thing you’ll need is a crypto wallet that can be integrated into your web browser and allows you to store ERC-20 and ERC-721 tokens. Naturally, you must have some MANA – it can also be Ether in case of buying outside the marketplace – in your wallet to be able to make the purchase. You can buy this with fiat money in one of the many exchanges available on the Web or in Decentraland itself.

2. Sign up for Decentraland

Go to the main page of the platform and register with a valid username and password.

3. Choose your LAND

Once you have registered, go to the purchase section and select a LAND that you liked. Before making the purchase, you’ll be able to see information related to your LAND in the corresponding section, including its price in MANA and its location.

4. Make your purchase

Once you have selected the plot to buy, you must connect your wallet with the Decentraland marketplace by logging in to your Ethereum account and making the payment according to the indicated instructions.

Is Decentraland halal?

Is Decentraland halal? Yes, Decentraland is halal. Decentraland is a platform that allows the user to perform many operations in what is called a “virtual world” as if they were in the “real world” and this is permissible. However, it is important for the Muslim to remember that in the Quran Allah says that He is, “Lord of all the worlds”. This also includes virtual worlds. This means that Muslims must uphold the same Islamic principles of “muamalat” (just dealings with people in a social and economic manner) in any world they participate in.

As for MANA crypto, scholars who generally rule that cryptocurrency is halal would also consider MANA as halal. MANA is the in-world currency for Decentraland. It allows players to purchase land and other goods and services on the Decentraland platform.

At this time, even though MANA is considered currency for the Decentraland platform, scholars would normally classify MANA as an asset.

Conclusion

It looks like virtual universes are here to stay. You can easily verify this thanks to the enormous growth and popularity that the different metaverses, especially Decentraland, are gaining. In fact, since investors and entrepreneurs have realized the enormous possibilities offered by this new trend, it seems that every month new competitors emerge, which are already generating millions – there we have the case of Axie Infinity.

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There is no doubt that the Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) revolution is here to stay insha’Allah (God willing); it’s enough to look at the astronomical sums that people are willing to pay in some cases for these digital assets. This is one of the reasons why these tokens are becoming the favorites of creators, entrepreneurs, and fans of the crypto world, and their popularity doesn’t stop growing.

Naturally, this is sparking more and more the interest of the general public, especially those starting out in the crypto world with the hope of making good money with relative ease.

For this reason, and considering the great recent demand for information on this topic, I decided to prepare this post, How to make money with NFTs, to help you start on the path of making money with your NFTs. If you already know what an NFT is, skip the next section, otherwise, I’ll explain it briefly.

What are NFTs?

NFTs are digital assets that have been in circulation since 2012 and that, as with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, are created and stored on a blockchain.

This means that NFT tokens cannot be duplicated, but unlike what happens with cryptocurrencies, each NFT has its own features that make it unique and unrepeatable. In other words, no two NFTs are equal.

This is the simplest explanation, but if you want to find out more info about the basics of NFTs, I recommend reading this post, What are NFTs and Do They Have a Future?

Can you really make money with NFTs?

Indeed, it’s possible to make money – a lot of money – with NFTs, as has happened in some cases like this. Take into account that the world is becoming more and more digital, which combined with the worldwide health crisis of COVID, has only increased the popularity of this trend. Like it or not, the digitization of assets/tokens are gaining an increase in monetary value.

The reality is that there are many, many people willing to pay large sums of money for these digital assets and NFT tokens are already revolutionizing the market in areas such as art, videogames, collectibles, and more. In this sense, opinions are divided since, while some consider that NFTs are just a bubble about to explode, others see them as the future of art. Time will tell.

Of course, you must be clear about one thing from the beginning: Due to the volatile nature of the crypto industry, investing in NFT tokens is a HIGH RISK investment. The return on investment can be really good, but investing without knowledge can lead to losing a lot of money as well. In any case, remember to always do your own research before taking any financial risk.

Top 4 ways to make money with NFTs

Let’s now look at the most popular methods for users to monetize their NFTs.

1. Create and sell your own NFTs

If you have the soul of an artist and fancy yourself to be creative, along with having good ideas, then creating artwork in the form of NFTs can be a great option to monetize your work. You can create almost anything you can think of in NFT form, including:

• Digital art
• Memes
• Music
• Audio clips
• Videogames items

Your imagination is the limit.

With that being said, as Muslims, we must also be mindful of what type of music and artwork is permissible according to the Sharia. Here is an excellent article that covers the Sharia perspective on drawing, Real Talk: Is Drawing Pictures Prohibited in Islam?

As for music, here is an article that covers the Sharia perspective on music, Real Talk: Is All Music Forbidden In Islam?

And if you are curious as to if NFTs are halal, then see my blog post, What are NFTs and Do They Have a Future?

And as for NFT platforms, there are several platforms on the Web that allow you to create NFTs quickly and easily, in addition to offering you a market where you can put your works on sale. Some of these are:

• Makersplace
• Rarible
• Mintable
• OpenSea
• SuperRare
• Enjin

Now, if you like this idea and want to start creating your own NFTs, follow these steps:

1.1 Create a cryptocurrency wallet

This is necessary to be able to store and move your digital assets. Some of the most popular are Metamask, Enjin, and Trust Wallet.

1.2 Open an account on any NFT platform

As I already mentioned, these are platforms that allow you to create and market your own NFTs. See the options above.

1.3 Create your NFT

Once your user is created, proceed to create an NFT token using the tools offered by the platform you chose.

1.4 Publish your NFT

Enter the marketplace of the selected platform, put a price on your creation, either fixed or auction type, and stay alert to possible offers.

1.5 Sell and receive your money

When a buyer makes their offer and ends the negotiation, the money will go directly to your crypto wallet – remember that the NFT platform will charge you a commission for its services.

2. Buy and sell digital artworks

This option can probably be the most profitable of all, although it’s also quite risky. Did you know that on March 11, the famous auction house Christie’s sold an NFT artwork for the first time in its history, worth $69 million? And the artist was a total stranger at that moment!

In order to use this method, you must have a very good artistic eye to be able to discern between works that can really be worth a lot of money and those that do not.

You can enter the platforms that I already mentioned and then search for works by new artists that you consider have potential and whose works are at a low price. After this, put your NFTs for sale on another platform, make du’a (prayer) and pray that the price of these works goes up and you can make a good profit.

3. Licensed collectibles

Considering the nature of the technology behind them, this seems like one of the most logical ways to make money selling NFTs. Basically, you can digitize almost any type of traditional collectible item, including trinkets, memorabilia, and trading cards.

At least in the United States, the most popular collectibles are sports cards, mainly for baseball, football, and basketball teams, so if you live in this country, you can start there. The best part is that thanks to blockchain technology, it’s very easy to prove the authenticity and uniqueness of any of these collectibles.

4. NFT videogames

Blockchain-based games use the real property of in-game items thanks to the characteristics of this technology. In-game objects based on NFT tokens allow players to verify that these items are unique and unrepeatable. Naturally, this gives an extra value to such items, so it is feasible to collect, sell, buy or trade them. This feature has made users flow to blockchain/NFT games because they can do something they’ve always wanted: buy and sell items in an open market.

And how does it work?

The first thing to consider is that you need to invest time and work – and in some cases, money as well – to win items. Many people are professional players dedicated to this and spend hours playing to accumulate what is necessary to get the best items, skins, or characters from their favorite game.

Although these NFT-based items are somewhat more like trading cards, they actually have the advantage that they can change over time, for the better, or to acquire multiple additional features. Some of these unique and special objects or characters can become true objects of desire for which many people would pay even thousands of dollars.

What are some of the best games to make money with NFTs?

Alien Worlds

In Alien Worlds, you can play and collect unique digital items in the form of NFTs. The game consists of a metaverse in which there are several independent planets, each with its autonomous decentralized organizations. Players interact with these planets through mining, acquiring or renting land, and voting for planetary governance to affect payouts.

Mining comes first in the game because as you mine, you can earn TLM (Trilium) and have a slim chance of finding an NFT. These NFTs can be anything from a super rare avatar, to a legendary sword.

CryptoBlades

CryptoBlades is a medieval fantasy browser game that revolves around acquiring legendary swords. Players have characters and weapons that they can improve through a token called “Skill,” which they can obtain as a reward for winning battles. Every character in the game works as an NFT, which means that they’re virtual objects that cannot be cloned. However, these can be traded or sold to other players on other platforms, and this is where the possibility of making money with this game comes in.

Axie Infinity

The NFT game of the moment. Axie Infinity is a game very similar to the popular Pokemon, since here you must also face, defeat, and collect monsters (Axies) throughout a huge virtual world. In Axie Infinity, each monster is represented by an NFT token, each having unique features. These monsters can be bought, raised, and even traded with other players.

To start in the game, you must acquire a minimum of three Axies, which you must buy; although there is also the possibility of acquiring a “scholarship,” so that you don’t have to make the initial investment – which can actually be prohibitive for many people. After this, you can acquire other Axies by completing missions and facing other players.

The game is powered by Axie Infinity (AXS) currency and Smooth Love Potion (SLP) and is available for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS.

Upland

Upland, another excellent NFT-based game that has become very popular since its inception in 2018. This is a multiplatform videogame whose mission is to, “break the barrier between the real world and the digital world.”

Upland is very similar to the popular Monopoly, in which users can buy, sell, and exchange virtual properties. The best part is that these properties have real blockchain addresses – implemented in the form of NFTs – and can be bought with the UPX token or fiat money.

Something great about the game is that each time you create buildings, you’ll earn UPX, which added to the rewards for stacking that each property generates, can give you a very interesting income in cryptocurrencies in a monthly basis. Once you have a considerable amount of UPX, you can withdraw this money to a Paypal account.

Additional ways to make money with NFTs

NFTs for fashion products

This method is similar to selling NFT digital art. Fashion, clothing, and accessory brands are making a profit by launching limited edition NFT tokens.

These tokens are based on pieces from their fashion collections, fully digitized, but with some added value, such as iconic celebrity pieces or design signatures. In some cases, brands place their NFT assets in exclusive marketplaces where consumers can purchase them alongside their fashion products.

There are numerous hijabi sisters and Muslim designers who post their latest fashion designs on Instagram. Why not take those designs and digitize them into an NFT?

Staking NFTs

If you own a certain amount of NFTs, you can place and keep them on some platforms that allow you to make a profit by staking your digital assets. Best of all is that this method can bring you a good amount of rewards without having to do basically anything. Many of the platforms I already mentioned earlier in this blog post allow for NFT staking.

Invest in NFT startups

There are numerous startups that are developing practical applications for all types of industries using NFT technology. This can be an opportunity for those who wish to invest in this technology indirectly and in a more traditional way by buying stocks from these companies.

Conclusion

It’s very likely that in the coming years – sooner rather than later – NFT technology will advance and capture a larger share of the digital marketplace.

The reality is that this technology has numerous practical applications for all types of industries, not only collectibles and videogames. This new wave of opportunities is just beginning, but it already has huge profit potential. What I have mentioned here are just a few examples of the current best ways to make money with NFTs.

There still exists a whole world of possibilities to discover as NFT and blockchain technology improve and more and more people adopt it insha’Allah. Time to enter?

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Since 2020, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been experiencing an enormous increase in popularity in a variety of sectors: music, art, collectibles, etc.

But one of the most notable sectors that NFTs are revolutionizing is the video game industry with the Enjin (ENJ) platform taking the lead in innovation in this arena.

Enjin, a platform that allows users to create their own NFTs, has become a leader in the video game industry, focusing on “evolving” the gaming industry through tokenization.

But what does this mean for gamers, crypto investors, and the video game industry as a whole?

Let’s take a closer look at Enjin Coin to see how The Future of Gaming and NFTs could possibly benefit gamers, crypto investors, and enhance the video gaming industry insha’Allah.

Why NFTs are the future of gaming?

Blockchain Games.

When we talk about blockchain games, we mean games in which the ownership and storage of the in-game items are decentralized.

Some triple-A games like Counter Strike or World of Warcraft have parallel marketplaces where players can buy and sell items within the game.

Let’s say you get an extremely rare skin for your weapon that has a great demand in the market, so this makes it worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

You want to sell it and make some money, but you run into a problem: the skin is not really yours, but actually belongs to the developers of the game, so selling the skin can be a legal problem for you. In addition, the developers could decide at any time to remove your skin or simply delete it from the game.

In blockchain games that doesn’t happen; players own the game assets, so they can sell them without infringing copyright or anyone’s “property” rights.

The ability to tokenize game assets and convert them into NFTs is one of the innovations that are establishing a new way of playing video games.

Transforming game items into NFTs helps solve several situations that were previously unavoidable problems for players:

• Players now actually own items within games
• These objects cannot be deleted or modified by third parties
• Being digital objects, these items can evolve and acquire new properties
• Players can sell them on virtual markets and earn money from it
• Thanks to cross-playing, the same NFT could be used in different video games on different platforms
• Players can “move” their objects from one place to another, store them, exchange them, etc., with total freedom

NFTs represent a new way of playing in which games can evolve according to the wishes of their communities. At the same time, they provide a new incentive for players, both veterans, and beginners, to monetize the time they spend playing.

Enjin coin and gaming

Enjin is both a platform and an ecosystem of software tools designed to enable the creation, distribution, storage, trade, and integration of digital assets in the form of NFTs. Enjin is also a cryptocurrency created on the Ethereum blockchain that was brought to life through an ICO that raised $18.9 million in late 2017.

At Enjin, users are primarily interested in video games and business use cases, using the platform to create ENJ-backed digital assets for creative use, from artistic NFTs to digital vouchers, to objects that can be used in different video games. Millions of users have already used the platform’s management tools to strengthen communities around their favorite games.

Taking this user-centric approach and applying it to the blockchain realm, they set out to create the ultimate all-in-one tokenization platform.

The idea behind the Enjin project is to offer an ecosystem and a tokenization platform, combined with a powerful set of tools for anyone to enter the world of blockchain, even being a total neophyte.

How does Enjin work?

Enjin Coin is an ERC20 token developed on the Ethereum network, so, in addition to being able to execute transactions, it can also execute smart contracts.

The platform offers a set of functions through its public API and its software development kits (SDK) so that users can make use of its features with great ease.

The main feature of Enjin is the creation and management of virtual assets; developers can create their own cryptocurrencies within Enjin and add them to their games later.

For this, developers must acquire and block certain amounts of ENJ tokens, which are locked within the assets they create, generating cryptocurrency scarcity, which in turn gives ENJ value and at the same time, increases its price in the market.

With software development kits for Unity, Java, Godot, etc., Enjin provides millions of developers with an easy way to integrate their new or existing projects. Creatives can subsequently enter an online marketplace with more than 10 million digital items where users can discover, buy, and sell rare and unique blockchain assets.

In addition to this, Enjin also has additional tools to make life easier for developers and users, such as Enjin Beam, a digital asset distribution system using QR codes, or the Smart Wallet, an asset wallet on the blockchain that easily syncs with games and apps.

Why is Enjin unique?

Every token minted within the Enjin platform is directly backed by ENJ, the platform’s currency. This gives real liquidity to game items, allowing real-world games and gaming platforms to be powered by the crypto ecosystem. When players obtain these items, they can use them within the game, but also sell or trade them for ENJ.

In addition, Enjin has a limited supply of coins of just 1 billion, of which there are about 800 million tokens in circulation, increasing their value over time.

Enjin, NFTs, and the future

In a previous section, we touched on some of the problems that Enjin is trying to solve in the gaming world, but let’s now dive a little deeper into this topic.

We already mentioned that thanks to Enjin and NFTs, players can now truly own these special items within their favorite games. At first, this may not seem like something of importance, but when you take a closer look at the current video game industry, you quickly realize how players are at a disadvantage and how video game companies hold all the keys.

Large companies develop triple-A games that millions of gamers play every day for hours, in many cases striving to progress or “level-up” in their favorite game or, as in the case of competitive games, they simply strive to be the best.

In many cases, having a rare weapon, armor, or power-up can make the difference between victory and defeat.

How many times have we heard or read about players whose accounts were unfairly banned by the companies behind these games?

When this happens, players feel as if they have wasted their effort, time, and money they’ve invested in their passion in addition to losing their treasured items.

Thanks to NFTs, players would have full control over these objects, and even over their progress in the game, since in the blockchain the records are unalterable.

Also, in most traditional games, special items lose value when a game becomes obsolete and players lose interest in it.

Enjin proposes to change this by creating an ecosystem in which different “worlds” – or games – interconnect, in which these special items don’t lose value and can continue to be used, or that these items can even be resold to make some money.

How people and organizations are using Enjin coin today

Although the main use of Enjin revolves around the gaming market to tokenize the value of in-game assets, the platform is also offering applications in other sectors, such as loyalty rewards and real estate.

Several major companies are partnering with Enjin to offer their customers and users an enhanced experience and the opportunity to earn incentives to help build loyalty from new and old customers.

For example, BMW is converting loyalty points that can be used to pay for fuel, tolls, and parking fees, into Enjin tokens that users can then exchange on the platform.

Also, the giant, Microsoft, is using Enjin’s technology for its social rewards program called Azure Heroes.

The company Unity wants to launch an SDK to facilitate the 4.5 million developers of its ecosystem, the integration of their apps and games with blockchain.

Also, some companies related to cryptocurrencies such as Binance, Changelly, or Swissborg, are using Enjin for their blockchain-based marketing campaigns, gamifying the user experience through the creation and distribution of digital assets.

On top of that, Enjin itself has been incorporating different app and game developers into its official Enjin Adopter program for some time, allowing them to build, finance, monetize, distribute, and earn money with their blockchain-based games.

The use of NFTs in the video games industry is an activity that is providing greater meaning to this new technology since in addition to solving real problems of users of real services and products in the digital world, they provide a different way of approaching games as players can earn money on the go.

Naturally, not everyone will make significant amounts of money this way, but for users who take it much more seriously, the ability to see their playtime significantly monetized, in addition to their contribution when creating content on certain types of games, the idea that Enjin proposes in combination with the NFTs should be more than exciting.

Is Enjin Coin halal?

Is Enjin Coin halal? Yes. Enjin Coin is halal. So long as the Enjin NFT that is created does not have characteristics that promote or convey what is haram, then creating, using, or earning income from Enjin coin is permissible.

Scholars who hold the opinion that cryptocurrency is halal would view Enjin coin as a utility token and would classify it as an asset and not a currency.

Conclusion

Insha’Allah (God willing) there is a bright future with numerous possibilities, especially if we take into account the direction that the video game industry is taking with Enjin and NFTs thanks to developments such as virtual reality, augmented reality, AI, 5G Internet, eSports, and the next big thing, the metaverse.

Some people say that all this, combined with blockchain and cryptocurrencies, is about to create a parallel “universe” in which everything will be possible. Have you seen the Steven Spielberg movie, “Ready Player One”? Prediction of the future? What do you think?

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Since the earliest civilizations, humans have always been attracted to collecting “special” objects to which they have assigned a certain value, for different reasons. In the past, this collecting mania could be reflected in any physical object, be it coins, artwork, vehicles, even rocks.

But we’re in the middle of the digital age and now, this collecting fever has a new exponent that’s causing a true sensation among lovers of the rare and exclusive: Non-Fungible tokens or NFTs.

But what exactly are NFTs, how do they work, what can you do with them, and most importantly for investors, do they have a future?

Take a look at this quick guide to find the answers to all these questions.

What are NFTs?

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are basically tokens based on cryptography that only exist on a blockchain. These tokens have unique characteristics that make them unrepeatable. These tokens can represent unique assets from the digital world or digitized versions of objects from the physical world.

In addition to this, NFTs can also be used to demonstrate the authenticity and ownership of different assets on a blockchain, acting somewhat like a digital fingerprint.

NFTs are different from fungible assets, that is, objects – both physical and digital – that can be exchanged with other objects of identical properties.

We have a good example to illustrate this in money; it doesn’t matter whether it’s physical like the dollar, or digital like Bitcoin (BTC): you can easily exchange one Bitcoin for another Bitcoin. This is possible because 1 BTC keeps the same value when you exchange it for another BTC; they’re equivalent and have exactly the same properties.

Non-fungible assets can’t be substituted in the same way as fungible assets because they are unique, unrepeatable, and have different characteristics.

Another good example of this is in artwork from famous painters.

You can see each of those paintings as a non-fungible token because although they’re all paintings, they’ve different properties and value; they’re unique, and you can’t exchange one of these paintings for another because there is only one original painting.

The good news is that these assets can also be represented in the digital world in the form of crypto tokens; thanks to information technology, it’s possible to “imprint” special marks that make each one of them unique.

The basis of NFTs are smart contracts

Today, virtually anything can be represented digitally, and the Ethereum blockchain is perfect for it. In fact, it’s this blockchain that has the highest percentage of NFT tokens on the market, due to the use of smart contracts.

A smart contract is a small program that can be created within a blockchain, which allows you to tell the network that it should store certain information and perform certain actions. In this case, anyone with the necessary knowledge can create a smart contract for an NFT token, assigning it the characteristics they want with enormous creative freedom.

In this way, it’s possible to store anything within an NFT token, and the smart contract within the blockchain will ensure that it works correctly at all times.

What can I do with NFTs?

Although NFTs began essentially as objects for entertainment and collectibles – KryptoKitties – today the market has expanded enough to find practically infinite uses for this technology. Let’s take a look at some of these use cases.

Digital Art

It’s possible to store information from artwork, jewelry, and other artistic objects on the blockchain in the form of NFTs.

This not only helps in motivating updates, circulation, and sharing through several markets, but it also helps in tracking unique digital art in the form of NFTs to verify its provenance, authenticity, and scarcity.

In fact, NFTs are already being developed for artwork such as paintings and sculptures that include professional certificates. The owner only has to show the unique information stored in the corresponding NFT to demonstrate that he is the owner of such work.

It’s easy to trace this digital certification because the ownership of these assets is already registered in the blockchain.

Video games

The creation of NFTs for different virtual objects from videogames allows you the in-game exchange of such accessories for points or digital currencies, and even for real money. This is something that we’ve already seen in the past, but blockchain and NFTs are doing a great job in creating and improving this online ecosystem or virtual economy.

When you play one of these games, you can obtain items such as weapons, clothes, skins, etc. These items will have their own related NFT, and they’ll be stored on the blockchain.

In this way, all the operations and properties related to such items will be registered in a public database, avoiding the possibility of cheating by malicious users. Some examples of such NFT-based games include:

• Sorare: In Sorare, you can purchase NFT tokens that represent professional soccer players. You can later use these tokens to play online fantasy games.

• Decentraland: A virtual world pretty similar to Second Life, where you can buy, sell, and exchange ERC-721 tokens and participate in different in-game events such as art shows, games, concerts, etc.

• Gods Unchained: A turn-based collectible card game where you can compete against other opponents.

Digital tickets

Many companies are using NFTs to represent digital tickets for different types of events, such as musical concerts and sporting competitions. These NFT tickets represent your unique permission to participate in those activities at a specific time and place, and you can’t convert this right into something else.

Using NFT technology ensures that each ticket is unique and valid at the time of use so that this will prevent the use of false tickets.

Identity tests

NFTs are also being used for identity authentication to help in keeping a complete record of personnel in public and private organizations. The technology can be applied to birth certificates, passports, and driver’s licenses, just to give you an idea.

These types of NFTs cannot be exchanged, but it’s perfectly possible to implement access control to obtain the information stored in them. This is a very practical application because it allows the interaction with NFTs so that organizations can obtain information about any individual, such as their educational level, for example.

On the other hand, an individual can do the same, requesting identity information from a doctor to verify their professional level.

Digital certificates

NFTs can be used to store information about different types of documents such as contracts, patents, and other similar certificates on the blockchain. This is an efficient way to make these documents traceable and prevent counterfeiting.

These digital certificates can store attributes such as intellectual property values, copyrights, etc. When it’s necessary, you can verify the validity of these documents using electronic signatures.

Domains

Domains are unique and can be very valuable, so it can be very costly and time-consuming to find the most appropriate for you. It’s possible to link domains to NFTs to create a public record for tracking purposes. This can help avoid third parties in domain trading, which also contributes to reducing costs due to speculation.

Some NFT coins to keep an eye on

Enjin (ENJ)

Enjin is a platform that allows individuals and organizations to create their own NFTs. In order to mint these virtual tokens and objects, you must acquire and block ENJ, Enjin’s cryptocurrency.

Decentraland (MANA)

Decentraland is a virtual world similar to The Sims or Minecraft in which users can buy and sell digital real estate while exploring and interacting with this virtual world. The game uses two tokens: LAND is an NFT token that represents unique parcels of land within the game, while MANA is a cryptocurrency that facilitates the purchase of LAND, as well as other virtual goods and services.

Axie Infinity (AXS)

Axie Infinity is a Pokémon-like virtual pet world that runs on Ethereum. Players can fight, collect, raise and build a kingdom for their pets (Axies) and have the AXS token, which is used for the governance, staking, and payment system.

WAX (WAX)

WAX is a platform that allows its users to create virtual markets to buy or sell digital items, especially games. For these transactions you must use the internal currency called WAX token.

Cardano (ADA)

Cardano is a third-generation blockchain platform with a scientific approach that promises great improvements to the crypto ecosystem and that, thanks to the use of smart contracts and dApps, will offer an ideal environment for the development of NFT tokens. All this is governed by the use of its cryptocurrency ADA.

Origin Protocol (OGN)

Origin is a platform very similar to Enjin, but that not only serves for the development of NFT tokens but also allows users to earn money that supports the development of projects within the platform through a model based on DeFi. Its internal currency OGN has the function of regulating the economy and the future of the platform.

Do NFTs have a future?

NFTs are a very recent technology in the crypto space. Although they have existed almost since the beginning of Bitcoin – does anyone remember the Colored Coins? – It wasn’t until the beginning of 2020 that a real craze for these digital assets began.

So much so, that almost every day it was possible to read in the news about a new NFT created and sold for hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars in a matter of hours.

The truth is that, according to history, when too much money moves around something new that generates a lot of hype, the risks also increase exponentially where scams and the risk of a bubble can be the order of the day.

However, even with all the madness surrounding NFTs, the reality is that this technology has many practical uses, as you may have read in a previous section.

The blockchain technology that makes NFTs work provides them with numerous possibilities to position themselves as digital objects of common use; as technology advances and matures, it is very likely that more and more people will become familiar with the use of NFTs.

The problem with this is that being such a “new” technological phenomenon, this maturing process takes time, and meanwhile, it seems that the bubble has already started to deflate, as we can read in the news.

So, as we always say, before jumping into the world of NFTs, you should proceed with proper education and caution before taking action.

Are NFTs halal?

Are NFTs halal? Yes. NFTs are nothing more than cryptographic tokens on a blockchain that have unique characteristics that make them attractive to collectors and investors or serve some purpose that the NFT can be used for. So long as the characteristics of the NFT do not convey or promote anything that is considered haram by the sharia such as, pornography, illegal drugs, cruelty to animals, anything that promotes hatred towards Islam, etc., then the NFT is permissible to create, use, and earn income from.

Another excellent article to read on the permissibility of NFTs would be, What are NFTs? by Mufti Faraz Adam.

Conclusion

NFT tokens are another technology option within the wide range of possibilities offered by blockchain. The number of practical applications to the real world is enormous, with all kinds of applications for identity, security, business, arts, and entertainment in the digital world.

Of course and as always happens, there are many people who simply want to make some money with new technologies as an investment, but like everything related to crypto-assets and with any investment in general, you have to take precautions before investing.

What we see now is just the tip of the iceberg of what can happen around NFTs – and maybe cryptocurrencies as well – but insha’Allah, in the future, surely non-fungible or NFT tokens will continue to surprise us with their enormous versatility and possibilities. There are a lot of people banking on that.

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