Muhammadiyah Issues Fatwa on Cryptocurrency; INDODAX Pushes Investment Literacy
Jakarta — The Fatwa Council and Renewal Board of Muhammadiyah’s Central Leadership has issued a fatwa in March 2026 stating that cryptocurrency assets can be regarded as valuable digital assets meeting the criteria of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh mal mutaqawwam), and therefore can be utilised as investment instruments.
The fatwa affirms that cryptocurrency is permissible for use as an investment instrument. However, cryptocurrency is not permissible as a means of payment in Indonesia.
Muhammadiyah considers the use of cryptocurrency as a payment method inappropriate owing to high price volatility and the potential to cause harm in transactions.
“This Muhammadiyah fatwa provides clarity for Muslim investors that cryptocurrency assets can be regarded as investment instruments within an Islamic framework,” said Antony in a written statement on Wednesday (11 March 2026).
According to Antony, this perspective also represents an important momentum for advancing Indonesia’s increasingly mature cryptocurrency ecosystem. However, as investment instruments, cryptocurrency assets retain volatile characteristics that investors must understand.
“Therefore, literacy regarding risk management and understanding of asset fundamentals become important in investing in digital assets,” Antony stated.
Conversely, certain practices are considered inconsistent with Islamic principles. These include futures trading, the use of interest-bearing debt through leverage or margin trading, market manipulation such as pump-and-dump schemes, and short selling.
The fatwa has emerged amidst growing discussion within the Muslim community regarding the permissibility of cryptocurrency asset use.
Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation. With approximately 242 million Muslim inhabitants, clarity on Islamic perspectives regarding digital economic instruments such as cryptocurrency is increasingly relevant to society.
Nevertheless, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) provides an exception that cryptocurrency can be considered permissible for trading as a commodity or asset provided it meets the requirements of merchandise (sil’ah) under Islamic law, possesses clear underlying value, and demonstrates tangible economic benefit.
As these developments progress, public interest in cryptocurrency assets continues to rise.
Data from the Financial Services Authority (OJK) shows that the number of cryptocurrency investors in Indonesia reached approximately 20.70 million users as of January 2026.
INDODAX states it will continue promoting increased investment literacy amongst the public.
The company notes that it is registered and supervised by the OJK, implementing security and compliance standards such as Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) to support a safe, transparent, and sustainable cryptocurrency trading ecosystem.