Questioner:
May Allāh be benevolent to you, O Esteemed Shaykh, this questioner says; What is the ruling on dealing with electronic currencies like Bitcoin and other than it?
Shaykh Arafaat bn Ḥasan al-Muḥammadī:
After reading and research, we discovered that these currencies contain risks and we also discovered that there are many of these syndicates; money laundering syndicates, drugs and weapons (trafficking) syndicates, benefit from these currencies.
And likewise, we also discovered what has to do with these currencies being used in a harmful way.
And add to that the fact that these currencies, it’s affair is still not yet clear, from the angle of the reality of this currency. Many of the countries, up till now, you will not find them having trust in this currency, in contrast with the paper currency.
And also, they mentioned that it is possible for there to be a breach of the wallets where the electronic currencies are kept. And many of them have been breached and stolen.
At any rate, there are also various risks and harms. They also mentioned that there are technical errors on the websites that are in charge of exchanging these electronic currencies.
So I do not advise, in reality, with dealing with these currencies. And it is upon the individual to ask and he should not embark upon anything except after asking – except after asking the people of knowledge. If he asks the one whom he trusts his religion and knowledge, he should commence these affairs.
And I, as I have indicated, do not advise that anyone makes use of these electronic currencies. Na’am.
