An Islamic scholar Muhammad Abu-Bakar declared the cryptocurrency halal and permissible under Sharia Law and Shacklewell Lane Mosque in Hackney is considered to be the first in the world to accept Bitcoin donations. The mosque management announced that they are hoping to raise at least £10,000 in donations in the form of cryptocurrency over the month of Ramadan. They will be accepting both Bitcoins and Ethereum in the form of Zakat.

Dr. Muhammad Abu-Bakar of Blossom Finance in Indonesia researched on the functionality of Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies under the strict Islamic definition of money. According to the CEO of Blossom Finance, there are many other fatwahs from Muslim scholars around the world:

Several recent fatwah issued by prominent Muslim scholars offered incomplete or contradictory opinions on the topic. With all the confusion out there, we wanted to offer clear guidance supported by solid research that benefits both laypeople and practitioners of Islamic finance Mathew Martin, CEO Blossom Finance

The conclusion of his research was that bitcoin is permissible in principle as it is accepted by a wide variety of global merchants. The bitcoin wallet address used by the mosque to receive the cryptocurrency has so far only received one donation, worth just over £100 at today’s prices.

If Muslims, who make up a quarter of the world’s population, hold just 1 per cent of bitcoins – or £1.04 billion – then £26 million in Zakat contributions is due Gurmit Singh, Founder & Advisor Bitcoin Wallet For the Mosque

It is likely the actual figure is much higher. Currently, hardly any mosques or Islamic charities accept Zakat in cryptocurrency. They are potentially losing out on millions of pounds.