Some corners of the Islamic world have shown skepticism about cryptocurrencies.
Indonesia’s National Ulema Council declared it forbidden in November, even though the government has been supportive of crypto assets, allowing them to be traded alongside commodity futures as an investment option and pushing to set up a crypto-focused exchange by the end of the year.
A different narrative appears to be taking hold in some jurisdictions.
Places such as Dubai have been wooing digital asset firms, and the strategy has been working. By bit just moved its headquarters to Dubai from Singapore.
Fasset said it plans to launch services in Indonesia and Pakistan soon.
In Indonesia, the firm said it’s set to be approved to operate as a full-service crypto exchange next month, while it’s ready to offer digital asset services in Pakistan. The company plans to double its headcount by the end of the year.
“We have seen multiple use cases come to the fore such as ‘zakat’ payments on crypto being championed by Islamic charities in Europe,” Mohammad said in an email interview, referring to an Islamic levy. “We will continue to see this trend as adoption and awareness increase.”
Still, not every country in the Islamic world looks as promising for crypto at the moment.
“Different jurisdictions are adopting distinct approaches,” said Jaime Baeza, CEO of Miami-based crypto hedge fund ANB Investments.
“Countries such as the UAE or Bahrain, with their pro-crypto approach, clearly recognize the value of the industry and are pushing to position themselves as global leaders. Alternatively, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait have a more restrictive view.
