Shariah Advisory Council (SAC)

At its 233rd and 234th meetings (29 June and 20 July 2020) the SAC resolved that digital assets are recognised as property (mal) and that investing in and trading them on SC-registered digital asset exchanges is permissible. Digital currencies with no underlying asset are treated as tradeable assets ('urudh), not as currency, so the rules of bay' al-sarf do not apply. Digital currencies backed by gold, silver or currency are treated as currency and do fall under sarf. A digital token is compliant only if the money it raises is used for Shariah-compliant purposes and its rights and benefits are compliant. The SAC did not name individual coins as compliant. At its 274th meeting (16 November 2023) the SAC ruled that burning transaction fees and "proof of burn" are permissible when disclosed in advance.