Academic Proceeding

The use of blockchain technology in financing has been based on its high benefits of efficiency and transparency. However, not many in-depth discussions have been done on such blockchain utilization for Islamic social finance or the metaverse. This paper

An abstract is written in Arabic.

An abstract is written in Arabic.

According to the Financial Stability Board's recent study, crypto-asset market capitalisation grew 3.5 times in 2021 to USD2.6 trillion. Still, the market remains a small portion of the overall global financial system, and direct connections between crypto assets and systemically important financial institutions and core financial markets are limited at the present time. The market, according to the European Central Bank, represents less than 1% of the global financial system in terms of size, but it is still similar in size to, for example, the securitised sub-prime mortgage markets that triggered the global financial crisis of 2007-2008. However, most central banks perceive the use of cryptocurrencies for payments to be trivial or limited to niche groups and not widely used in critical financial services (including payments) on which the real economy depends. Besides, the different incidences of price volatility in cryptocurrency markets have, so far, been contained within crypto-asset markets and have not spilled over to other financial markets and infrastructures. This report - which is based on the notes and commentaries shared by the participants of the workshop "Cryptos: Distinguishing Hype and Realities in Islamic Finance", held at SOAS, University of London on 16th June 2022 - discusses the above-mentioned topic in some detail. Although the full commentaries are extremely valuable and beneficial, this 'summary of commentaries' aims to discuss the most crucial concerns regarding cryptos that the world faces today. The report gives some insights regarding the crypto-asset industry and sheds light on some legal and Shari'ah issues that can arise in cryptocurrencies. To serve this purpose, this report is a brief compilation, with selective editing, of the notes and commentaries shared by individuals prior to the workshop. A list of contributors is placed at the end of this report.

Ever since the success of GoFundMe, an American charity- or donation-based online crowdfunding launched in 2010, this platform has become popular among not-for-profit organizations to raise funds to support their social activities and projects. However, the use of this online platform within the Islamic social finance domain, particularly by the government bodies is very limited. Hence, this paper provides a case study of Asnaf Care, a charity crowdfunding platform that was launched by a state zakat authority in Malaysia, i.e., Lembaga Zakat Negeri Kedah (LZNK) to specifically assist eligible beneficiaries who are affected by the global pandemic of coronavirus (COVID-19). The case study aims to assess the effectiveness of this platform in raising funds to cushion the impact of COVID-19 on the affected zakat recipients. In this discourse, key features of Asnaf Care, its campaigns or projects, and the total collected funds since its launch in March 2020 until December 2020 are highlighted. The case study is hoped to pave the way for any zakat authorities in Malaysia or worldwide in exploring an alternative digital platform to raise additional funds during financial crises due to pandemics, calamities, or natural disasters.

Malaysia is a multi religious and a multi ethnic society with a plural legal structure. The banking system of country is essentially dual in nature and hence, there are two different sets of legal framework working simultaneously. Today, the Islamic Banking system which emerged in 1983 has levelled up to the conventional banking system which had rooted itself in the society a long time ago. Whether we believe it or not there are challenges and clashes at hand due to the existence of the dual system in the society and they need to be addressed properly, so that the clashes between these two types of banking system can be minimized. There are several quarrels between conventional and Islamic Banking laws. Some of these clashes are created due to the application of common law or conventional law based legislation to resolve the problems in the Islamic banking system. The impact of this is huge, primarily because, Islamic economics has a different premise from conventional banking and applying the same legal principles to resolve disputes for both markets does not work. Unlike conventional banking�s capitalist conviction that winner takes all, Islam argues for a fair distribution of profit and loss and bans purely speculative activity.