Cryptocurrency has drawn burgeoning attention from the global community, including Muslim economies and entrepreneurs. Just recently, Pakistan also showed a shift towards the crypto-based new economy. Besides the government of Pakistan, the public is increasingly showing a significant tilt towards cryptocurrency. Pakistan is reported to have the largest number of active freelancers with over 40 million crypto wallets. The ascending graph of the crypto- centric economy around the world and a popular account of its adoption at home make it necessary for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to thoroughly address whether cryptocurrency qualifies as money in Shariah, the aspects in which adoption of cryptocurrency can be contradictory to a few basic principles of Islamic finance and violations of Maqasid e Shariah. This paper examines these fundamental issues and provides a practical approach by addressing the extent of fintech integration in Islamic finance, particularly blockchain technology, while also presenting the emerging concept of Islamic Cryptocurrency, also known as Halal Cryptocurrency, which considerably addresses the criticisms often raised. The case studies of Turkey, Indonesia, Iran and Malaysia are also added to understand the patterns of crypto-adoption by some Muslim countries.

1. Zahra Khan

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cryptocurrency, blockchain, binance, shariah, islamic, injunctions, islamic, finance, fiqh,

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