Bitcoin as Money: The Perspective of Islam (Selected Issues)

Abstract

The article presents the analysis and evaluation of the essence of bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies) from the perspective of its (their) adaptability to the Muslim concept of money. From an economic point of view in the so-called Western culture, all the classical functions of money cannot be fully attributed to bitcoin. Although it performs the function of an exchange medium and the means of payment, it does not fulfil the role of a value storing instrument and thus proves to be a defective measure of value. In the Islamic world, the perception of bitcoin as money is a more complex problem because its economic presentation overlaps with religious issues. Such relationship results in a situation when the answer to the question: can bitcoin be approached as money, is formulated on the basis of a subjective interpretation of the Sharia law, which is also ambiguous.