{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1855548,
        "msgid": "crypto-fatwa-in-the-tokenisation-era-time-for-a-new-paradigm-1783871485",
        "date": "2026-07-12 21:42:00",
        "title": "Crypto Fatwa in the Tokenisation Era: Time for a New Paradigm",
        "author": "",
        "source": "CNBC",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Finance",
        "summary": "As blockchain technology evolves from speculative crypto assets to the tokenisation of real-world assets like bonds and sukuk, the existing 2021 fatwa on cryptocurrency needs to be contextualised rather than contested. The author proposes a 'Digital Securitisation Paradigm', arguing that Sharia assessment should shift focus from the technology itself to the underlying economic substance, legal validity of contracts, and the existence of a tangible underlying asset, aligning with the fatwa's core ethical principles.",
        "content": "<p>Over the past few years, the discourse on cryptocurrency has almost\nalways stalled on one question: is it halal or haram? Yet, while the\ndebate remained unresolved, the world moved on. Blockchain is no longer\nsynonymous with speculative assets; it is evolving into a new\ninfrastructure for the financial system through asset tokenisation,\ntransforming ownership rights of real assets into digital\nrepresentations. Government bonds, sukuk, equities, gold, property, and\ninvestment funds are now being tokenised as the foundation of a new\nfinancial market. This shift is not merely a technological innovation\nbut a paradigm shift. Institutions like the Bank for International\nSettlements (BIS), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the\nEuropean Central Bank (ECB) now view tokenisation as the bedrock of\nfinancial system modernisation. Through Project Guardian, the Monetary\nAuthority of Singapore is testing the tokenisation of bonds, investment\nfunds, and bank deposits, while BlackRock\u2019s BUIDL fund demonstrates how\ngovernment securities can be represented as digital tokens. The global\nfocus is no longer on whether blockchain is necessary, but on how to\nbuild governance that ensures security, transparency, and trust.\nIndonesia is entering a similar phase. Since the transfer of crypto\nasset oversight to the Financial Services Authority (OJK) under the P2SK\nLaw, digital assets have entered a phase of institutionalisation. With\nover 20 million consumers, transaction values exceeding Rp650 trillion,\nand one of the highest crypto adoption rates globally, the main\nchallenge is no longer accepting or rejecting digital assets, but\nbuilding a governance framework that transforms this large market into a\nsafe, productive, and high-integrity ecosystem. It is in this context\nthat the 2021 Ijtima\u2019 Ulama Fatwa on cryptocurrency deserves a reread,\nnot to be pitted against technological progress, but to be\ncontextualised as blockchain evolves from a speculative instrument into\nfinancial infrastructure. The relevant question is no longer whether\ncryptocurrency is halal or haram, but how to ensure that asset\ntokenisation adheres to Sharia principles, is legally sound,\ntechnologically secure, and provides economic benefit. The fatwa serves\nas an ethical compass. When it was issued, the market was dominated by\nhighly volatile cryptocurrencies with minimal underlying assets and\nrampant speculation. In that context, the fatwa declared the use of\ncryptocurrency as currency impermissible due to its conflict with\nIndonesian positive law and the presence of gharar (uncertainty) and\ndharar (harm). However, the fatwa did not close the door entirely. It\nstated that digital assets meeting the criteria of sil\u2019ah (a valid\ncommodity), possessing a clear underlying asset, and being free from\ngharar, dharar, and qim\u0101r (gambling) are permissible to trade under\nSharia. This formulation indicates that the object of assessment is not\nthe blockchain technology itself, but the economic substance of the\ntransaction. What is tested is the existence of the underlying asset,\nthe clarity of ownership rights, the contract structure, and the\npotential for harm. The fatwa is thus more accurately understood as an\nethical compass for financial innovation rather than a rejection of\ntechnology. Tokenisation is often perceived as an entirely new\nphenomenon. Economically, however, it is an evolution of a long-familiar\nconcept: asset securitisation. If securitisation transforms assets or\ncash flows into tradable instruments, tokenisation converts the\nrepresentation of ownership or beneficial rights over those assets into\na digital form on a blockchain. What changes is not the economic right,\nbut the medium of its representation. In Islamic finance, this logic has\nlong been recognised through various asset-based and asset-backed sukuk\nstructures, where investors obtain economic rights over real assets\nthrough valid contracts. Tokenisation brings the same principle into the\ndigital era. The difference lies not in the economic substance but in\nthe infrastructure. Centralised registries, custodians, and settlement\nprocesses are replaced by distributed ledger technology, enabling\nfaster, more transparent, and programmable recording of ownership and\ntransfer of rights. On this basis, this article proposes a \u2018Digital\nSecuritisation Paradigm\u2019, a perspective that views tokenisation as a\ndigital evolution of asset securitisation, rather than an entirely new\nconcept. This paradigm shifts the focus of assessment from the\ntechnology to the substance of the legal and economic relationships\nbeing constructed. This paradigm has significant implications for fiqh\nmuamalat. Sharia assessment no longer stops at the question of whether\nblockchain is acceptable, but moves to the substance of the legal and\neconomic relationships built. What must be tested is the legality of the\nunderlying asset, the clarity of ownership rights, the validity of the\ncontract, the transparency of rights transfer, and freedom from riba\n(usury), gharar, maysir (gambling), tadlis (fraud), and dharar. This\napproach aligns with the fiqh principle that consideration is given to\nthe essence and objectives of a contract, not merely its form or medium.\nFrom this perspective, the 2021 Ijtima\u2019 Ulama Fatwa actually has broad\nroom for adaptation. When the fatwa requires an underlying asset,\nclarity of the transaction object, and the absence of gharar, dharar,\nand qim\u0101r, it is essentially laying the ethical foundation for the\ndevelopment of digital assets that have a real economic basis. This\napproach is also consistent with the thinking of Douglas North, that\neconomic growth is largely determined by the quality of institutions\nthat can create certainty of rights and reduce transaction costs.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/crypto-fatwa-in-the-tokenisation-era-time-for-a-new-paradigm-1783871485",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}