The complete reference for the NFU Network — geography, revenue mechanics, XRPL architecture, and every question a serious participant needs answered before they commit.
Every time something changes hands — a coin, a watch, a painting — something is lost: history, proof, and the value that every middleman in the chain created.
The shift from Token to Utility is not marketing. It is a technical declaration: this thing has a job.
A single NFU, at the moment of issue, simultaneously provides all of the following. These are not aspirational features — they are present at mint, baked in, permanent.
Every NFU in the network sits at a level in the geographic and commercial hierarchy. Each level receives a percentage of all the activity beneath it — automatically. Click any level to learn more.
NFUNetwork/ — the genesis NFU
The platform itself. The L1 NFU is minted once and held by the platform wallet. It is the root of the entire hierarchy — all geographic and commercial nodes descend from it.
Platform base percentage — approximately 10% of all transfer fees generated anywhere in the network. This funds platform operations and maintenance.
NFU Network genesis NFU: NFUNetwork/ — minted once, the ancestor of every node in the network. All other NFUs trace their flatHierarchy path back to this root.
Europe · Asia · Americas · Oceania · Africa · Middle East
Those who see a region as theirs to build. There are exactly six regions globally — the rarest positions below the platform root — suited to someone for whom this becomes a genuine vocation: building relationships with country-level advocates, running workshops, and championing the network across an entire continent. The scale of a regional holder's own promotional work and results directly shapes the value of their position.
A percentage of every transfer fee generated anywhere within that region — across all countries, districts, categories, and items beneath it. The more active the network beneath them, the greater this becomes.
The Europe Region NFU reflects activity across the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain — and every other European country in the network. A regional holder might run workshops for country-level advocates, help introduce new dealers to the network, or sponsor events — every result reflects transfer fees flowing to their own position. The continent becomes their canvas: one person's outreach, one person's vocation, continent-wide reach.
One NFU per country — UK, Japan, USA...
National-scale advocates — people with deep knowledge of that country's collector and dealer markets, and an interest in the future verticals and industries that will one day share these same geographic seats. A country position sits between the intimacy of a district and the reach of a region: identifying and welcoming district-level advocates across their country, building a presence nationally. There's no obligation to do any of it — but for those who apply their expertise and effort, the opportunity is there to build something real, and the rewards reflect the success of that effort.
A percentage of every transfer fee generated by any item sold within that country — across every district, category, and sub-category beneath it. More active districts means more fees flowing through the country position.
The United Kingdom position reflects activity from every coin, stamp, watch, and antique sold anywhere in the UK on the network. A UK country holder might organise a national dealer directory, attend trade fairs to help identify and welcome district-level advocates, or liaise with auction houses — building a national presence entirely their own, independent of the platform.
Counties, postcode prefixes, city zones — search and claim
Local market experts and dealers who know a specific area well. The district level is designed to reward hands-on activity — the fee percentage reflects the likelihood of genuine on-the-ground participation. A district holder can personally visit and recruit retailers, set up dealers at craft fairs, organise local auction events, and help category nodes get started — all independently of the platform, beyond the ledger mechanics itself.
A percentage of every transfer fee from any item sold within the district boundary — one of the strongest single-level percentages, reflecting the hands-on work this level typically involves.
A York district holder, an advocate of the Network, moves in familiar circles. They endeavor to enlighten collectors, dealers, curators, and authentication professionals — through hands-on visits or outreach — growing the network as a rewarding exercise. Every sale in their district automatically brings them a portion of transfer fees. The platform provides the foundation; they bring local knowledge and relationships.
Coins · Stamps · Watches · Militaria · Antiques...
Category specialists — dealers, collectors, or traders who know a specific product world deeply. A Watches category position in York is a natural fit for a horologist already sourcing and selling in that area. A category holder can grow their niche by helping to find, identify, and welcome sub-category advocates, helping dealers list their stock, or championing the category within local trade communities — all entirely their own initiative.
The highest single-level fee percentage from any item sold within that category in that territory — reflecting deep specialist knowledge and the active role category holders often play in growing their niche.
A horologist holds York / Watches. They list their own watches, help two local dealers get set up, and mention the network at their horological society meetings. Every watch sold in York — by them or anyone else in the category — automatically brings them their percentage. Specialist knowledge becomes their own vocation.
Pocket Watches · Military Medals · Victorian Coins...
Deep niche specialists. The most accessible node with a genuine foothold in a specific sub-market — ideal for collectors just starting to build a presence. At 25 XRP, open to almost anyone.
A percentage of every transfer fee from items listed within that specific sub-category — niche ownership that grows alongside the category.
London / Militaria / WW1 Medals. A specialist who trades in this niche holds the sub-category position — their expertise reflected in every WW1 medal sold in London through the network, while also listing their own items beneath it.
Individual collectibles — coins, stamps, watches, militaria
Sellers and collectors. The L7 NFU is the item itself — a certificate of ownership for a specific physical object with provenance, grade, condition, and photographs permanently recorded on IPFS and the XRP Ledger.
Every L7 item generates a transfer fee on every sale — feeding the entire hierarchy above it. The original lister also receives 3% of that transfer fee on every future resale of the item.
A Victorian gold sovereign, graded VF+, with provenance photographs, sold in York. The buyer receives the NFU — their proof of ownership travels with the coin forever. When they resell it, the original lister automatically receives 3% of the transfer fee, on every subsequent transfer.
When anything sells — an item, a district, a category, a founder position — a transfer fee is enforced by the XRPL at the protocol level. That fee distributes to every position holder in the chain above it. And when a hierarchy node itself changes hands, its record of past activity is visible on-ledger — a demonstrable track record that makes an established node genuinely valuable to whoever builds on it next.
No claiming. No delay. No intermediary. The distribution happens as part of the transaction itself — enforced by the XRPL the same way gas fees are enforced on Ethereum. Not a promise. A protocol mechanic.
Amounts above update dynamically from the platform's live configuration. The bar widths show relative percentage sizes — adjust in Settings to balance rewards for fairness and proportionality.
Founder NFUs sit outside the geographic hierarchy. Each tier receives its own fixed rate — a percentage of every transfer fee generated anywhere on the network, forever, paid independently of the other tiers. Adding more founders never dilutes existing ones. The mechanics are transparent and on-chain verifiable.
Receives 0.5% of the transfer fee on every transaction anywhere on the network, forever — a fixed rate per weight unit that never dilutes as more founders join. Permanent on-chain recognition. Fully transferable on the XRP Ledger.
Receives 1.25% of the transfer fee on every transaction anywhere on the network, forever — 2.5× the Bronze rate, from a single NFU. This rate never dilutes as more founders join.
Receives 3% of the transfer fee on every transaction anywhere on the network, forever — the most powerful single position in the network. This rate never dilutes as more founders join, unlike a shared allocation split by weight. See the live figures below.
Six questions. Each wrong answer explains the misconception — not to embarrass, but because understanding why common ideas are wrong is more useful than just hearing the right answer.
Walk through the steps of creating an NFU listing. This is an educational simulation — see how your item connects to the hierarchy and what fees flow to whom.
Select a hierarchy level, estimate the L7 item activity in a territory, and see how fees distribute across the full chain — from item lister to region. All figures are illustrative calculations based on configured fee percentages, not forecasts or projections.
Illustrative only — based on configured fee percentages. Actual amounts depend on real market activity. Highlighted row = your selected level. All unowned node percentages route to the discretionary allocation. XRP price movements affect fiat equivalents but not XRP-denominated mechanics.
The NFU Network is not a single marketplace — it is a protocol. The geographic hierarchy, revenue mechanics, and IPFS provenance layer are shared across verticals. Each vertical serves a different real-world niche.
Physical collectibles with verifiable provenance — the flagship vertical
The global collectibles market is worth over $400 billion annually. Most of it operates on trust, paper certificates, and reputation — all of which can be faked. The Collectors Emporium replaces paper provenance with on-ledger, IPFS-anchored proof that travels with every item, forever. Crucially, you do not need to operate or maintain a marketplace to benefit — championing a region, district, or category is enough to receive a percentage of every transaction in that territory.
Dealers, collectors, auction house operators, antique fair and craft fair organisers, postcard and stamp traders, horologists, militaria specialists. Anyone with deep local knowledge of a collector market is sitting on a node that could receive a percentage of every transaction in their territory. The QR code is individual and printable — stick it on an item at an exhibition, display it in a case, attach it to the back of a painting, or embed it in the image itself. Each item becomes its own portable point-of-sale and provenance record, with no additional infrastructure required.
Creators are not restricted to low-quality pixelated icons. Any professional-grade image, photograph, or artwork can be the NFU media — full resolution, any format. The QR is baked into a corner of the image at mint so it does not compete with the art itself.
A merchant payment terminal, owned as an NFU — your QR code is your commercial position
(a) General payment terminal — A single QR displayed on a screen, iPad, or printed card. Customer scans, pays the merchant directly. Works for any product or service without individual item listing. The terminal itself is the NFU.
(b) Item-level NFU with QR — Each individual product or set is represented as its own NFU. The QR links to full item details, description, and the buy/pay facility on the network — same experience as the Collectors Emporium but for retail and payment contexts. Ideal for market stalls where customers want to inspect what they're buying before paying.
Market organisers, craft fair operators, independent merchants, event promoters, food vendors, accommodation providers. The transfer fee is intentionally lower here than for collectibles — reflecting the high-volume, lower-margin nature of retail. The district node above a busy market receives a percentage from every stall in it — a natural position for the market organiser. Local advocates who help merchants get set up receive a percentage of every transaction in their territory indefinitely.
Digital art and creative work with protocol-enforced creator royalties on every resale
NFT royalties on other chains are enforced by marketplace policy — not by the ledger. They are routinely bypassed. XRPL transfer fees are protocol-level: every resale pays the creator's wallet automatically, with no marketplace able to waive it. The Creators Emporium makes this the default for every creative work listed on the network. Creators are not restricted to digital-only distribution — prints and physical editions are a natural fit.
Artists, photographers, print makers, illustrators, musicians, writers, and 3D creators who want resale royalties that actually work. Creators exhibiting prints or multiple copies can embed the QR into the artwork itself — providing buyers with a portable point-of-sale, the creator's story, edition details, and future resale ability in a single code. The QR affixed to the back of a print or canvas means every future sale — even through a third-party auction house years later — can still route the creator's royalty automatically.
Real-world property and IoT sensor installations, anchored to the same geographic hierarchy
The same three ingredients that make a coin's provenance verifiable — a permanent record, a QR-linked identity, and a geographic position that receives — apply just as well to a physical property or an installed device. An NFU can stand in for a title-deed-equivalent record for a property, or represent a physical sensor installation that receives a percentage from the data or activity it generates, without inventing a second system to do it.
Landowners, property managers, letting agents, infrastructure operators, and anyone running networked sensors — environmental monitoring, agricultural equipment, utility metering. A district node owner already benefits from collectible and merchant activity in their territory; this extends the same position to property and device activity in that area, with no new node required.
Contracts, attestations, and intellectual property records, anchored the same way a collectible's provenance is
An NFU's Legal Document Anchor function — an IPFS-stored document with an on-ledger signature — is already present at mint on every NFU in the network. This vertical makes that function the point of the listing rather than a side detail: NDAs, simple contracts, licensing templates, and intellectual property records, each with a permanent, timestamped, tamper-evident anchor.
Solicitors, notaries, IP consultants, and licensing operators who need a record that can't be quietly edited after the fact — and, subject to each user's own jurisdiction and regulatory obligations, a lighter-weight alternative to paper for straightforward agreements.
The choice of XRPL is architectural, not preferential. The revenue mechanics require something most chains don't have.
transferFee field that the XRPL enforces on every transfer. No Solidity, no contract deployment, no exploit surface. The ledger is the contract. On Ethereum, royalties are enforced by marketplace policy — and routinely bypassed.The NFU Network is built for different types of participant. Each role has a different entry point, a different kind of value, and a different position in the network.
Every district, every category, every item — owned, attributed, and alive on the XRP Ledger.