Publication: بيتكوين : دراسة تحليلية من منظوري خبراء الاقتصاديين و علماء الشريعة
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Date
2023-05
Authors
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Publisher
Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia
Abstract
Bitcoin is a digital currency based on crypto and blockchain using "peer-to-peer" and
decentralized transactions. Bitcoin was first introduced in 2009 and began to gain wide
acceptance since the beginning of 2017 until now. Acceptance of Bitcoin as a currency
or asset is a controversial topic among financial authorities, Shariah scholars, economic
and financial experts and the general public. From a Shariah point of view, the position
of Bitcoin as a legal currency is also an issue of debate. From an economic point of view,
various aspects of risk, value stability, and abuse as a medium of crime are also often
discussed. Many countries have yet to implement specific official laws to control and
supervise Bitcoin transactions and usage. This study aims to analyze the position of
Bitcoin mainly from two main perspectives, which are economics and Shariah, and to
propose the appropriate form of regulation for the authorities, users and the public from
both viewpoints. In order to achieve the objectives of this qualitative study, the
researcher conducted interviews with six (6) economic experts, six (6) Shariah experts
and five (5) Bitcoin users to obtain direct views and information. The interview results
were analyzed qualitatively in thematic and comparative approaches. From an economic
point of view, this study found that there are various risks for Bitcoin such as regulatory
and legal ambiguity, a high risk of value stability due to its position outside the authority
of the law, and it is not recognized by most countries and has the potential to become a
criminal medium. From the Shariah point of view, Bitcoin has not met the criteria of
money (nuqud) or price (thaman) from the viewpoint of fiqh. Hence, it does not have
the same status as the currency issued by the official monetary institution of a country.
This also leads to the view that Bitcoin is not a zakawi asset (which zakah must be paid)
due to its abstract nature and the way it was created which does not coincide with Shariah
principles. Although there are various views regarding the position of Bitcoin from
economic and Shariah points of views, the researcher opts the view that Bitcoin is still
not really legitimate to use as a currency, commodity or asset because it contains
elements of gharar (ambiguity and uncertainty), darar (harm) and qimar (gambling) and
does not meet the property requirements according to the Shariah perspective.
Description
Matric:3191129 (FEM)
Keywords
Cryptocurrencies, Money (Islamic law), Bitcoin, nuqud, thaman, Electronic funds transfers
Citation
Subhan Mawardi. (2023). Bitcoin: dirasah tahliliyah min manzuri khubara’ al-iqtisodiniyina wa ‘ulama al-shari’ah [Master’s thesis, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia]. USIM Research Repository.