IslamicFinance.de

Malta continues to take the lead in attracting blockchain and cryptocurrency ventures and now also in the upcoming Islamic finance scene. The new Sharia compliant cryptocurrency exchange Huulk has applied for a digital exchange license in Malta and hopes to partner with several European exchanges in the coming weeks. According to Huulk CEO Ibrahim Mohammed, Malta’s Bianchi Holdings would be an equity partner in the exchange. Bianchi Holdings Chairman Michael Bianchi is also involved in other blockchain and cryptocurrency ventures. The Huulk exchange is aiming to list around 20 Islamic fintech firms, some of which operate in Muslim-majority countries like Turkey and Malaysia. OneGram also plans to list its own sharia-compliant cryptocurrency on the exchange by mid-September. OneGram has sold around $400 million in gold-backed tokens over the past year.

For many years, the global Islamic finance has been seen as a laggard in digital innovation, but now Islamic finance players are catching up with their conventional peers. According to Zeeshan Uppal, co-founder of crowdfunding company Yielders, fintech has opened up opportunities for Islamic finance to catch up because it allows scalability, which is in line with shariah law. Ibrahim Mohammed, the founder of OneGram, says that blockchain technology can create digital banks or P2P lending platforms that adhere to Islamic principles, and many other asset classes can be made shariah-compliant. Umar Munshi, founder of EthisCrowd, finds the slow innovation in Islamic finance perplexing as there is an urgent need for financial inclusivity. He expects to see more players in the takafultech, crowdfunding and P2P financing, payment and remittance, and smart contract space next year. According to EY’s Banking in Emerging Markets GCC FinTech Play 2017 report, Fintech can propel Islamic banks into the mainstream space in 20 promising markets by 2021, up from five markets today, and effectively add 150 million new Islamic banking customers.