Could there be a halal cryptocurrency?

Local Shariah advisors believe ‘halal coin’ is a viable idea, as long as governments collectively agree to it

By DASHVEENJIT KAUR / Pic By BLOOMBERG & issf.isra.my

LEADERS at the Kuala Lumpur Summit 2019 last week called on Muslim nations to strengthen financial and trade cooperation, and to cut their reliance on the US dollar.

Iranian President Dr Hassan Rouhani, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad mooted the idea of a unified currency as one of the ways to confront the economic dominance of the US.

Local Shariah advisors believe “halal coin” is a viable idea, as long as governments collectively agree to it, financial technology entrepreneurs maintain their appetite for it and the Islamic finance ecosystem comes to understand it enough to regulate it.

Mohamad Akram says Shariah authorities have not ruled on whether cryptocurrencies are permissible and none have the authority to impose them

International Shariah Research…