INTRODUCTION
Cryptocurrency is essentially a digital currency exchange and digital payments platform that uses blockchain technology. The technological and digital revolution over the last few decades has meant that innovative payment systems have been created and utilised, and cryptocurrency is one of the major breakthrough payment systems for business and personal finance use.
Although there are over 2,000 cryptocurrencies on the market now, Bitcoin is probably still the most known form of cryptocurrency in the blockchain market, and was the first cryptocurrency coin to go mainstream but there are other cryptocurrencies entering the market.
For Muslims across the Islamic world, the question arises as to whether crypto payment platforms are deemed to be halal or haram in the eyes of Allah and in accordance with Shariah principles, and whether as a currency it prevents money laundering.
CRYPTOCURRENCY
One of the defining aspects of cryptocurrency is that there is no central authority such as a Government that authorises it or records it.
Ultimately, it is the duty of every Muslim to be seeking knowledge, and this guide will address the use of the cryptocurrency market and its intrinsic value. We will consider whether crypto currency is permissible as a form of actual money under Islamic laws and in the Islamic world. We will consider the views of Islamic jurists and scholars on this emergence of what is considered to be new money addressing the question of is cryptocurrency halal.
ISLAMIC SCHOLARS INTERPRETATION - IS CRYPTOCURRENCY HALAL?
A comprehensive Islamic law interpretation, one that sparked a massive rise in Muslim investment in Bitcoin and Ethereum in 2018, was provided by Sharia advisor Mufti Muhammad Abu-Bakar (former advisor to Blossom Finance) who looked at the question of is cryptocurrency halal as a money supply. He argued that Bitcoin is permissible under Islamic principles.
ISLAMIC SCHOLARS
Another reason Islamic jurists and scholars from Muslim countries argue that cryptocurrency is halal is that the concept of the blockchain and other cryptocurrencies are inherently anti-interest when looked at from a money generation source or perspective.
Islamic banking laws are also anti-interest so the technology, pricing, and buying and selling of cryptocurrency money is deemed halal by many Islamic scholars who rely on the teachings of Prophet Muhammad PBUH when seeking guidance about permissibility (ultimately, only Allah knows best).
Source:
https://www.qardus.com/news/what-is-cryptocurrency-and-is-it-halal#:~:text=As%20cryptocurrency%20money%20is%20deemed,as%20a%20form%20of%20currency.
