Pakistan's Mufti Taqi Usmani declares cryptocurrency trading haram

Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, president of Wifaq‑ul‑Madaris Al‑Arabia Pakistan and Darul Uloom Karachi, issued a fatwa stating that buying goods or trading digital assets with cryptocurrency is not permissible under Islamic law. He ruled that crypto does not qualify as "maal (property or wealth)" in Sharia and is merely a record of notional numbers, covering tokens such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and stablecoins like USDT. The fatwa advises returning items purchased with crypto and deleting any unlawfully obtained digital courses. Usmani’s son, Hassan Usmani, confirmed the ruling’s authenticity. The decision has sparked debate among scholars, some of whom argue that certain cryptocurrencies could be permissible under strict conditions.