A Thematic Analysis of Fatwas on Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency

The global expansion of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies brings unanswered questions of the Islamic finance that are legal in nature. The existing research is divided into two camps, namely, total prohibition, or conditional acceptance. It is a thematic analysis of 32 public fatwas (2014-2024) of 12 Islamic jurisdictions in the first systematic analysis. The application of cryptocurrencies and their Shariah acceptability are analyzed. This paper applies the six-stage model offered by Braun and Clarke and it establishes five key jurist themes. The former theme is the ambiguity of the issue of whether cryptocurrencies are to be treated as mal (property) or thamaniyyah (money). The second theme talks about gharar, i.e., excessive uncertainty that is caused by volatility, lack of transparency and regulatory instability. The third theme concerns speculation by trading which is similar to maysir (gambling). The fourth theme is about mafsadah, which is harm to society and includes illicit use, environmental costs and inequality. Lastly, the fifth theme is on interpretations and deviations which form conditional permissibility in the presence of regulation and transparency, which minimises the risks of jurisprudence. The findings indicate that juristic disagreement is not an issue of inconsistency but the use of the various kinds of reasoning on novel financial technologies. The study paves the way in the study of Islamic-finance, by transforming the disjointed textual load of fatwa into a juristic map, which articulates the reasons behind the variance of rulings, as opposed to how they vary. This paper can be used by Shariah boards, regulators, and developers of digital assets to take action on implementing maqasid al-Shari, in the regulation of digital assets.