As we continue to explore the possibilities of Web3 and the metaverse, there are many different innovations showing up in the market. They all aim to offer something unique that can provide better experience for its users.
In the case of Netverse, that uniqueness lies in its status as a sharia-compliant metaverse that is said to be the first of its kind in the world.
Netverse is a product of the Islamic Business and Finance Network (IBF Net Group), the result of its partnership with Algorand Inc.
Similar to any other metaverse, Netverse is a shared virtual world that uses both immersive and blockchain technologies, writes IBF Net Group CEO Mohammed Alim in an email interview with e27.
The CEO explains that the use of immersive technology –such as AR/VR, mixed reality, and holography– enables users to “experience and feel” in a three-dimensional environment. But its “halal metaverse” status allows Netverse to provide a different experience.
“In a halal metaverse, users must socially interact with each other in an Islamically acceptable manner. Netverse imposes on its community a set of guidelines of social behaviour, which have been developed in consultation with Amanah Advisors, the UK-based Shariah Advisory partner of IBF Net. It sees certain forms of in-verse behaviour as inconsistent with Islamic etiquette and culture and penalises such behavior. Any complaint reported on such unacceptable behaviour is flagged and remedial or deterrent actions follow,” he said.
As the concept suggests, every transaction or financial contracting involving users inside Netverse must comply with the sharia regulations, in addition to country-specific financial regulations.
“Netverse hosts IBFNex, designed as a miniature Islamic economy on the blockchain, which comprises several platforms using smart contracts that cater to transactions in the philanthropy, not-for-profit, and commercial for-profit sectors of the Islamic economy. The smart contracts used to facilitate such transactions are free from riba (unjust enrichment), excessive gharar (fraud, deception, uncertainty, and complexity), qimar (gambling), and other elements prohibited by shariah,” Alim says.
What advantage does a sharia-compliant metaverse has?
“Ensuring Islamically acceptable behaviour by all residents of Netverse remains a key advantage of this shariah-based metaverse in addition to promoting a halal economy that is free from shariah-prohibited elements. Netverse is religiously and culturally acceptable to all users including the millennials who constitute the bulk of the community,” Alim explains.
“Indeed, it is a grave societal concern that young minds are exposed to a large amount of content that tacitly or explicitly encourages violence and promiscuity, given the increasing amount of time they tend to spend in a virtual environment. Netverse provides for healthy social interaction including Islamic education with gamification of contents, especially in the fields of economics and finance, in a virtual environment that the users prefer or are familiar with,” he continues.
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As a platform developed by IBF Net Group, Netverse users are mostly students, researchers, professors, scholars, and professionals interested in this field. With the growing role of technology in a halal economy, Alim says that the expanded community now includes members with a background or interest in information and web technology as well.
“Since the community in this niche area is largely dispersed across the globe, its user acquisition strategy has been and continues to be campus-focused. It has a significant presence in social media and tools of member acquisition include webinars, meetups, training events, certification courses, awards, data, and information-sharing,” Alim says.
Behind the metaverse
Netverse is developed by IBF Net Group, an online community that is focused on the field of sharia economy and finance that was founded in 1999.
Its involvement in the blockchain field includes the introduction of the IBFX token and a number of blockchain projects, which The Netverse has helped expanded by bringing them into the metaverse:
The Benevolence platform: A platform that allows project owners to mobilize donations of cash as
well as volunteer hours in a time-bound manner.
The Credence platform: A custodial service provider that facilitates conversion of various records, documents, certificates, endowment deeds, and many more into NFTs ensuring their safe storage, and perpetual and transparent access.
The Affluence platform: A marketplace that facilitates conversion of various assets into digital assets in the formof non-fungible tokens and their auction/sale in a transparent environment along with ensuring the flow of royalties and other legal payments to original creators through smart contracts. It has a unique feature of interest-free financing (qard) option based on collateral (rahn) of digital assets.
The Essence/Excellence platform: A marketplace that seeks to bring together buyers and sellers of halal goods and services including for-profit halal financial services. The Excellence platform is restricted to sale of e-learning courses.
Also Read: How blockchain can help combat ongoing fraud in the Halal food industry in SEA
IRSHAD (Intelligent Robo Shariah Advisor): An AI-powered chatbot that is well-equipped to engage with the user in a conversation regarding Zakat as an economic institution of philanthropy and empowerment of the poor and marginalised
sections of society. It is in the process of acquiring intelligence on Islamic inheritance and personal financial planning.
When asked about its plan for 2023, Alim says that a few major components of IBF Net’s plan for this year with respect to Netverse include expansion of the community, targeted to cross 100,000 mark by end of the
year covering all major university campuses that teach Islamic economics, business, and finance across the globe.
It also plans to expand beyond the existing virtual learning hub (Netversity) and virtual marketplace (Netbazaar) as a growing virtual edu-city, to be known as The Octagon (Rub-al-Hizb). The organisation also currently designs and offers learning programme in Islamic economics, business, and finance for students at senior school and pre-university levels, and conduct gamification of contents within existing portfolio of courses and certification programmes.
“The implementation of these plans would demand financial resources. IBF Net is now poised to launch a fund-raising campaign through a public sale of its in-verse token, followed by a sale and lease of virtual space and an invitation to institutional and individual investors to contribute to its capital,” Alim closes.
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Image Credit: IBF Net Group
The post Innovation meets piety: How Netverse sets itself apart as a sharia-compliant metaverse appeared first on e27.