Indonesian Islamic body forbids crypto as currency

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), a top body of clerics, has ruled that using cryptocurrencies as a means of payment is unlawful in Islam, but trading of digital assets could be allowed, one of its leaders said on Thursday.

Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim majority country, bans the use of crypto as a currency, but investment in and trading of the digital tokens are allowed in the commodities and futures market.

The total value of cryptocurrency trading in the commodity bourse has reached 370 trillion rupiah ($25.96 billion) this year to May, according to the trade ministry.

The total trading at the end of 2020 was valued at 65 trillion rupiah. The number of traders has reached 6.5 million up from 4 million.

As a means of payment, cryptocurrencies are forbidden according to Shariah law because they carry elements of uncertainty and harm, and are in violation of state laws, Asrorun Niam Sholeh, the MUI’s head of religious decrees, told Reuters.

Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/11/business/indonesia-ulema-council-crypto-intl-hnk/index.html