Kuala Lumpur - Affluence is a unique NFT marketplace with auction, buy-now-pay-later and collateral-based financing options, launched by IBF Net amid the growing traction of NFTs as an emerging asset class.

NFTs are not just pictures of bored apes or pirates with golden guns on the blockchain. NFTs or non-fungible tokens are the future of the creator economy. These tokens are used to digitally transform unique assets that include objects of creation, such as art and design, collectibles, books, and manuscripts. With some imagination, they may even include plants and trees, livestock, and other physical and economic assets that may provide a digital identity. The blockchain verifies the authenticity of an NFT. The “non-fungible” nature of such tokens implies that they are unique, highly differentiated and not interchangeable. The commercial value of an NFT lies in its ability to prove ownership and authenticity of the asset which it represents. So, what are all things you may do with NFTs on the Affluence platform?

1. You may convert your physical assets into digital ones (NFTs);
2. You may create and sell your NFTs in single or multiple copies;
3. You may collectively, as a member of a group or community, hold a digital high-value asset;
4. You may showcase all your NFT holdings in one place;
5. You may sell your NFTs at a fixed price;
6. You may carry out an auction of your NFTs for correct price discovery;
7. You may buy NFTs on cash or credit at no additional financial cost; and
8. You may unlock the value in your existing NFTs by offering them as collateral;

Affluence may be seen as an extension to IBF Net’s Credence platform that facilitates the initial four of the eight operations stated above. Credence essentially focuses on preserving an asset that may be, for instance, the evidence of your ownership of a property. You may also find it useful to preserve important records and documents, such as financial contracts, marriage contracts, waqf deeds, Shariah pronouncements, documents in evidence of academic credentials and acquisition and enhancement of skills and competencies etc. Credence by placing the records on the blockchain makes them tamper-proof, immutable, and fully transparent, inducing greater trust among the stakeholders.

Beyond preservation, Affluence ensures that the value contained in the assets is made transferable, liquid, and exchangeable at a fair price. The possibility of offering the assets as collateral helps unlock their value without losing ownership. What sets Affluence apart from other NFT marketplaces is a set of unique features, such as “zero-interest” buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) or Shariah-compliant leverage that improves asset liquidity; and the process of auction that helps accurate price discovery. The possibility of collateralization of assets held by a buyer opens the possibility of financing new purchases by mitigating default risk for the seller, says Dr. Mohammed Obaidullah, Founder, IBF Net. With some imagination, the platform can be used to address major economic challenges like financial inclusion. For instance, small-holder farmers may now be able to unlock the collateral value in their land and livestock holdings once these are digitized with verifiable data, he says.

Indeed, the range of possible use cases are further enhanced with the deployment of smart contracts in the creator economy. Smart contracts that are automatically executed facilitate transparent and uninterrupted payments from one party to another — for example, of royalties to the author/creator with every sale of the NFT representing a piece of art and design, book, or any other creation of value. In the initial phase, Affluence plans to be a major game-changer in the digital publishing space by addressing some major pain points for the authors/ creators, e.g. low and exploitative royalties, under-reporting of volumes sold, a significant revenue share for the middle-men, says Mohammed Alim, CEO, IBF Net.

With the launching of Affluence, we have crossed a major milestone in configuring our miniature Islamic economy on the blockchain, as our platforms now cover almost the entire range of Islamic contractual relationships in philanthropy , not-for-profit and for-profit sectors. These have been made possible during a short span of just one year. The coming year should witness further development of the platforms with a significant enhancement in the form of application of metaverse technology, he says.

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