IslamicFinance.de

The global surge of interest in cryptocurrencies extends into the Gulf and Southeast Asia, the main centres of Islamic finance. However, many Islamic scholars argue that cryptocurrencies are not religiously permissible, as they are products of financial engineering and objects of speculation. UAE-based OneGram is issuing a gold-backed cryptocurrency, which is certified as valid by Islamic advisors. Each OneGram cryptocurrency unit is backed by at least a gramme of physical gold stored in a vault. Tens of millions of dollars worth of the currency have been issued so far. About 60% of the planned number of coins remains to be sold. In Malaysia a similar initiative was launched in October. HelloGold launched an initial offer of its gold-backed cryptocurrency and received approval from Amanie Advisors. Among other experiments, UAE-based Halal Chain conducted an initial coin offer in December which is linked to data on Islamically-permissible goods.