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Pakistan fatwa on crypto purchases puts digital asset framework in focus

A fatwa declaring crypto purchases impermissible under Islam has drawn Pakistan's crypto regulator into direct talks with prominent Islamic scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani. The session puts the country's digital asset…

NM
NewsMV Markets Desk
3 min read
12 July 2026Markets desk
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A fatwa declaring crypto purchases impermissible under Islam has drawn Pakistan's crypto regulator into direct talks with prominent Islamic scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani. The session puts the country's digital asset framework at the center of a religious and regulatory debate with no disclosed resolution yet.

The ruling and what it targets

A fatwa is a formal legal opinion under Islamic law. This one reached crypto purchases directly. Mufti Taqi Usmani, the scholar at the center of the talks, is described as prominent, which means the ruling carries weight that a regulator operating in a Muslim-majority country cannot file away as a fringe position.

The debate the fatwa sparked is over Pakistan's digital asset framework. The question being argued is foundational: whether the underlying transaction type is permissible under the religious law that shapes how a significant portion of the population approaches finance.

Regulator engagement

Pakistan's crypto regulator did not contest the fatwa publicly. It held talks with Mufti Taqi Usmani. That choice tells you something about how the regulator is reading its own terrain. This is a question being worked through at the design level, not managed at the edges.

Any framework built to bring retail participation into digital assets in Pakistan will have to answer the permissibility question. A structure that leaves that unresolved has a gap at its base.

What to watch

The content and outcome of the regulator-scholar talks has not been made public. The next confirmable step is whether those conversations produce a formal guidance document, a stated position from either party, or a visible amendment to Pakistan's digital asset framework.

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Filed via theblock.co

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Key takeaways

Frequently asked

What is a fatwa and what does this one target?

A fatwa is a formal legal opinion under Islamic law, and this one declares crypto purchases impermissible, reaching digital asset transactions directly.

How did Pakistan's crypto regulator respond to the fatwa?

The regulator did not contest the fatwa publicly and instead held direct talks with Islamic scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani.

Has the debate been resolved?

No, the content and outcome of the regulator-scholar talks have not been made public and there is no disclosed resolution yet.

Why does this fatwa matter for Pakistan's digital asset framework?

Because any framework built to bring retail participation into digital assets in Pakistan must answer the permissibility question, and leaving it unresolved leaves a gap at the framework's base.

What is the next confirmable step to watch?

Whether the talks produce a formal guidance document, a stated position from either party, or a visible amendment to Pakistan's digital asset framework.