Indonesia’s LPS says cryptocurrency is non-halal, against Islamic principles

Cryptocurrencies would fall under the non-halal category due to lack of a ruling that clearly states it complies with Islamic transaction principles, said Chairman of the Deposit Insurance Agency (LPS), Anggito Abimanyu, yesterday.

The Financial Service Authority (OJK) reported, cryptocurrencies are currently booming in Indonesia– the world’s largest Muslim-majority country – where it had over 19.56 million crypto asset trading consumers as of November 2025, up 2.5 percent each month.

According to Jakarta Globe, despite having no issuance of sharia fatwa by recognized religious authority such as the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), cryptoasset transactions had amounted to around Rp 482.23 trillion (RM112.24 billion) in value throughout last year.

In contrast, Islamic law mandates sharia-compliant transactions to be tied to a tangible underlying asset, making it halal or permissible to align with Islamic teachings.

“Cryptocurrencies are just about money circulating and turned into bitcoins. That’s why crypto is in the non-halal category.

MUI had labeled the cryptocurrency as haram in November last year, due to its unlawful trading of digital assets according to Islamic teachings. (credit photo: Reuters)

“But at the end of the day, the decision to embrace crypto or not — despite knowing the fact — rests in the person’s hands.

“It’s your responsibility,” Anggito said.

Previously in 2021, MUI labeled the use of crypto as a currency as haram (non-permissible) due to its uncertain and dharar (harmful) nature. 

Aside from failing to meet the requirement of valid commodity (sil’ah) in physical form, the council also determines that cryptos as a digital asset cannot be traded and equates it to gambling, which is prohibited for Muslims. 

Although, the council admitted that it could approve crypto as an asset only if it meets the valid commodity principles, has an underlying asset, and comes with clear benefits.

Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data indicated at least 207 million Indonesians identified as Muslims, making up 87.2 percent of the total population.