The Intersection of Blockchain Technology, Sharia Compliance, and Digital Finance with Islamic Coin & HAQQ Network’s CMO

With a mission to onboard over 1.8+ billion Muslims into the digital finance ecosystem without compromising their values and faith, Islamic Coin is making waves in the crypto industry. 

Today, we have the privilege of diving deeper into the project and its unique features as we chat with Zain Awan, who will shed light on the innovative approach taken by Islamic Coin. Join us as we explore the fascinating intersection of digital finance, Sharia compliance, and the future of blockchain technology.

Speaker: Zain Awan, CMO at Islamic Coin & HAQQ Network

1. Congratulations on the upcoming listing on Kucoin! Can you tell us more about the significance of this milestone for Islamic Coin and its community?

“Our mission of onboarding the world’s over 1.9+ billion Muslims into the modern era of digital finance is only just beginning, with more people now having access to ISLM by listing it on public exchanges like KuCoin. We are working on getting ISLM on more exchanges in the coming weeks. We only recently emerged from stealth and have since achieved landmark achievements like our $400m private funding round. ISLM is HAQQ’s native token designed to fuel innovation in Shariah-compliant and ethical financial applications.

As more people begin to lay their hands on ISLM, which serves important utility functions such as staking, governance, payments, and even Islamic Bonds, otherwise known as Sukuk. We are confident that ISLM will deliver on its promises of establishing a Shariah-compliant ecosystem, including the defisphere.”

Yes! Haqqex, while centralized, represents a Shariah-compliant crypto exchange which aligns with our vision at Islamic Coin and HAQQ. Muslims globally are constantly looking for opportunities to participate in modern finance. However, the challenge has always been about balancing their quest for financial security with religious beliefs and ethics.

Haqqex represents that bridge, and we are proud to be one of their major partners. Sushi, on the other hand, is a DEX, a major gateway for players in the DeFi spaces offering a vast array of crypto assets. We understand the unique needs of core DeFi natives who prefer trading on DEXs as it doesn’t require KYC before users can access it.

We are looking forward to seeing more exchanges recognize the value of ISLM and integrate it into their platforms. Our vibrant communities across various platforms stand as a testament to our global appeal as the go-to solution for ethical finance in the Web3 space. We’re committed to upholding the highest standards of compliance, and we believe this will continue to resonate with exchanges looking to offer valuable, ethical financial options to their users.

3. The introduction of the “Everything App” sounds intriguing. Could you provide some insights into how this app will benefit the Global Muslim Community and support early-stage projects?

For us at Islamic Coin, our commitment to cater to the world’s global Muslims, many of whom are not properly serviced in the legacy financial system in existence today, is unflinching. And while we are at it, we are also innovatively looking at how we connect the dots. By connecting dots, we mean boosting the utility of what we already have existing with innovative applications that employ the use of assets like ISLM. Think about it like this: as a Muslim, you can simply use a single app for your communication, spending, investment, logistics needs and more. 

The connecting piece here will be ISLM, which already boasts impressive utilities, as I mentioned earlier. Take, for instance, our partnership with FAMBRAS; with this and many more, ISLM can cater to users of our Everything app comfortably, whether it is for investment, communications, lifestyle and more.

We are currently working on this in stealth and will be giving more details to our community as soon as we think it’s the right time for that. Definitely, an exciting future is ahead of us. Super app will have utility for the Muslim community and beyond as a means of communication, accessing key parts of utility which is required and a one-stop shop for the future of the community to be nurtured. 

4. Creating a halal and ethical NFT marketplace is a unique initiative. How does this marketplace align with Islamic Coin’s commitment to responsible digital finance, and what impact do you hope it will have on the NFT space?

Again, we are grateful for the unique opportunity we have to address a global problem for those interested in ethical finance. You’ll agree with me that a lot of speculation and wash trading happens in the conventional NFT sector.

While it may be difficult to address this challenge using conventional means, our focus is on deploying what we have to get to our destination on this journey. Let me help you understand my point. We already have the Shariah Oracle, or you can even call it the HAQQ Oracle. This is an exciting piece of technology that helps ensure Shariah compliance for those using our premier wallet — HAQQ wallet.

With the HAQQ wallet, users can still set their preferences regarding the dApps/contracts they want to interact with. How will this NFT marketplace pull its data feed? The Shariah Oracle! This doesn’t allow unethical transaction practices to leak into the HAQQ wallet. And when you look at it, beyond the wash trading that happens in the NFT space, we have also seen cases of money laundering and other vices facilitated using NFTs. We hope an ethical NFT marketplace layered on HAQQ addresses these challenges.

The last point I would like to cover on this point is the business model. There’s been a huge debate on royalties, fees and other issues per NFTs trading on NFT marketplaces like Opensea, Blur, Sudoswap, Superare, etc.

While I won’t be going into deep details about how our NFT marketplace will operate based on these parameters, rest assured it will be modelled according to Islamic Finance principles for the highest ethical compliance.

5. Islamic Coin envisions providing a “super utility single token.” Could you explain what this means and how it will encourage widespread participation in the HAQQ ecosystem?

A common denominator everyone knows about in this space is volatility. In fact, you hear statements like “Volatility is a feature. It’s not a bug”. Super utility, therefore, is a way to promote the legacy and allow users not only to benefit via the direct and apparent things which are being built but also to be part of the groundbreaking ecosystem that Haqq is already actualizing.

The real builders in this space seldom discuss the price of tokens, even though it tends to excite a large amount of any project’s community. Especially if there’s an upward trend. But what makes or mar any project in this space is the utility(ies), a project’s token powers. The success of Ethereum today can be easily traced to the utilities it allows builders and projects, whether they are creating a dApp focussed on payments, agriculture, education or even healthcare.

For us at Islamic Coin, we have given this some deep thought and therefore structured the tokenomics of ISLM to show we are in this for the long haul. I mentioned the different sectors dApps are disrupting for Ethereum, and where do you think I am going with that?

We understand how important the utility of any crypto token is, which is why we have and are still bagging numerous collaborations and partnerships in every major sector you can think of. MBM in Dubai, FAMBRAS, and more. Our end goal is to power ISLM utility in several areas with different dApps that could be created, fuelling the economic vision of Islamic Coin.

The main premise here is that our audience is really not core web3 natives, which makes sense to ensure regular folks not that savvy with crypto can access and use ISLM. The possible positive effect here is that ISLM may become the first asset that is not dependent on the ISLM price and may even become an internal hedge for web3 natives looking to shield themselves from extreme volatility in some cases. Super utility will not be an isolated benefit but a compounding one which empowers ISLM holders to drastically be a part of the cutting edge of ethical Web3.

6. Transparent governance is a key aspect of Islamic Coin’s approach. How will the project ensure transparency, and what mechanisms will be in place for community involvement in decision-making?

So early on, the narrative we have established is that HAQQ, our L1 Blockchain with  ISLM as its native token, is community-run. For us, we pride ourselves in inclusion, which means levelling the playing field. As you may well know, validators run any PoS blockchain. HAQQ, being a PoS blockchain, requires no minimum amount for validators in ISLM to be able to qualify as a validator.

However, only the top 150 validators are selected to participate in network governance. ISLM is instrumental in fueling a governance model that is both inclusive and Shariah-compliant. Members can propose, back, and vote on initiatives, ensuring an ethical and community-driven governance process within the HAQQ Network. Governance on HAQQ with ISLM also covers Evergreen DAO and Shariah Oracle.

7. Interest-free trading is a notable feature of Islamic Coin. How will this be implemented, and what benefits does it offer to users compared to traditional trading platforms?

The prominent difference between conventional finance and Islamic Finance is that the latter prohibits Riba —  interest, which is the bedrock of conventional finance. Islamic Finance hinges on Shariah Law, which prioritizes community over profit-making. For instance, in place of the interest model, Islamic Coin, which was created through a Fatwa, facilitates Sharia-compliant financial transactions, following Mudarabah and Musharakah, representing Islamic frameworks for structuring loans. Mudaraba is a unique form of partnership where one partner provides the capital, and the other offers expertise and management. Profits are shared as per an agreed-upon ratio, but any loss is borne solely by the capital provider.

On the other hand, Musharakah is a partnership approach where profit and loss are shared, fostering mutual interest and responsibility. These transactions are seamlessly executed through smart contracts, offering robust utility for Islamic Coin. All these and more can be coded into smart contracts deployed on HAQQ with transactions facilitated using ISLM.

We are organizing hackathons as well as encouraging innovators within the space to explore these sustainable financial model options through our $40 million ecosystem funds. Islamic Coin also has utility in the realm of inheritance, a prominent aspect of Islamic finance. It deploys smart contracts to adhere to Sharia guidelines, minimizing disputes and legal proceedings, thereby ensuring fair and automatic distribution.

Despite the zero tolerance to interest rate in Islamic Finance, it is actually a strength which can lead to sustainable progress and not compromise the stability of the community – allowing for more harmonization and legacy in the financial apparatus that is built with this foundation.

8. Could you share some insights into the charity-driven initiatives that Islamic Coin is involved in and how these align with the project’s broader mission?

Philanthropy is an integral part of Islamic Coin. We established Evergreen DAO and designed it such that 10% of each ISLM minted is deposited into it. These funds will be solely channelled towards initiatives beneficial for the Muslim community and the network at large.

Its governance structure is delineated by the HAQQ Community and HAQQ Shariah Board, ensuring every spending proposal aligns with Islamic finance principles. Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam, and for us at Islamic Coin, we see Evergreen DAO as a driver of enabling sustainable charitable practices to the broader Muslim population globally. 

Pioneering a new era of responsible digital finance presents several challenges, particularly when aligning it with the principles of Islamic finance. First, the sheer size of the potential market—estimated at around $3 trillion for Islamic Finance and an additional $4 trillion for Halal products—suggests immense possibilities but also complexities in terms of scalability, regulations, and market education.

The primary challenge lies in accessibility. Despite a vast market, Islamic finance products are not readily available to the broader population, often due to geographical or regulatory constraints. Islamic Coin aims to bridge this gap by leveraging modern financial technologies that can reach people regardless of location.

To this end, Islamic Coin is designed as a Sharia-compliant digital asset that can serve the needs of the global Muslim community and beyond. By doing so, we’re not just increasing accessibility; we’re also educating the market on how Islamic financial principles can be applied in the digital age.

Navigating these challenges will require continuous innovation, stakeholder engagement, and rigorous compliance with both financial regulations and Islamic principles. We’re committed to these objectives and are excited to spearhead this transformative shift.  

We have a lot in store, and our community can rest assured we are actively collaborating and inching new deals that will further grow our ecosystem and help fuel our mission.

Just recently, we have integrated with CoinPayments, a foremost crypto payment solution with access to over 100k merchants. Now, more than 100k merchants and businesses can facilitate ethical transactions using ISLM. That is just one of the deals. There are many more, like our collaboration with Axelar to help bring USDC into the HAQQ ecosystem to boost liquidity.

Our Gold-backed stablecoin is another key development that is ongoing, and we hope to update our community on this. Many of our collaborations and integrations will take effect in the coming weeks and months now that ISLM is publicly available.

In fact, beyond our revolutionary products, HaqqPad and Haqq Labs, our accelerator launchpad and incubation arms, respectively, are looking to go full steam attracting innovative projects across a wide range of products because we are narrative agnostic and looking to touch key sectors that are necessary for a thriving ecosystem such as HAQQ and Islamic Coin.

While we are working hard to achieve these, our hope is that more exchanges will recognize and embrace the transformative work we are doing at Islamic Coin and HAQQ.

By integrating ISLM into their platforms, these exchanges can offer their communities a unique opportunity to participate in our groundbreaking vision for ethical finance in this modern era of digital finance.

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