Question:
Assalamualaikum
Is bitcoin and other crypto currencies halal?
Answer:
Alaykum Salam,
If its characterizations by major economists and central banks as a Ponzi scheme and a collective delusion are to be trusted then no, it is not halal. The fact that it is not halal is further suggested by its being named “virtual” whereas the definition of wealth/property in Islam is that it is tangible (`ayn), not virtual. However, the latter objection can also be applied to paper money which is, today, no longer supported by a gold and silver basis. Yet we continue to use paper money in halal transactions and even in acts of worship like the remittance of zakat. The reply is that the halalness of paper money has long been a matter of practical consensus in Islam, whereas no such consensus exists as to bitcoin and cryptocurrency. At the very least it can be said that bitcoin/cryptocurrency is Islamically dubious and untrustworthy, and Allah knows best.
Hajj Gibril Haddad
