Since the invention of money, the major religions of the world have grappled with its effect on human morality, the unequal distribution of wealth, and the indignities of poverty.
“Through money, even the incorruptible can become corrupted,” said the 19th-century Hasidic rabbi Menachem Mendel Kotzk
“Therefore, if they desire to invest their money, let them exercise diligent care lest they be snatched by cupidity, the source of all evil,” wrote Pope Benedict XIV in a 1749 encyclical.
“Wealth is the tribulation of the soul and the plunder of calamities,” warned Shia scholar Abu al-Fath al-Amidi.
Now, the three Abrahamic religions — Islam, Christianity and Judaism — are encountering a new type of money in the form of cryptocurrency.
Halal and Haram crypto is a matter of debate
Islam has no central authority like a Pope, leaving scholars to debate whether crypto is halal — that is, permitted by Islamic law. Islam has strict definitions about what constitutes a permissible currency and has explicit rules against usury.
Hamza Redzuan, research analyst at the Qatar Centre for Global Banking and Finance, writes, “Some cryptocurrencies are considered to be Shariah-compliant, but crypto has generally elicited mixed views in the Islamic world.”
“Some scholars rule that investing in crypto is halal as long as the underlying project is halal, while others consider the whole category to be haram [forbidden], as crypto characteristics, such as valuation based on market fluctuation and its use in gambling, are considered un-Islamic.”
Malaysia’s National Ulema Council banned crypto in 2021 because it possesses elements of uncertainty, gambling and harm.
Other Islamic scholars who are critical of crypto have raised concerns over its lack of intrinsic value. Islamic legal observers Mohammad Rasikh Wasiq and Mohammad Hamed Shahab write:
“Bitcoin does not fulfill two criteria of Islamic money. At first, it does not have intrinsic value, and second, the price of Bitcoin is highly volatile. Moreover, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not tangible. Taking into account these three unmatched criteria, Bitcoin is not legal in Islamic sharia deals and it cannot be base of deals in Islam.”
However, there are also organizations specializing in Islamic finance that have introduced rating systems for cryptocurrencies. Practical Islamic Finance (PIF) has an index that rates assets’ halal status as “comfortable,” “questionable,” or “uncertain.”
Furthermore, just as there are Islamic financing projects designed to provide funds without charging interest, there are also Islamic-centered cryptocurrency projects that attempt to comply with the edicts of the religion. The ISLM cryptocurrency project purports to have an asset that adheres to principles of Islamic finance and operates on a Shariah-compliant blockchain, Haqq (“haqq” means “truth” in Arabic).
It even employs Shariah Oracle, which “ensures that all smart contracts that interact with the HAQQ Wallet are Shariah-compliant, which means they adhere to Islamic principles and ethics.”
Redzuan says with these ongoing discussions and Islamic crypto projects, “there is now certainly more guidance and regulation for Muslims looking to invest in crypto assets in a way that aligns with their principles.”
Christians meet crypto
With an estimated 2.5 billion Christians in the world spread across tens of thousands of denominations, views about money, crypto and, and how they should interact with them are understandably diverse.
Many of the older and more conservative denominations have taken a hard stance. The Russian Orthodox Church has rejected cryptocurrency outright, saying that it will not accept tithes or donations in Bitcoin or any other form of crypto.
The Catholic Church, while not having a specific stance on crypto, has expressed skepticism and caution around emerging technologies. The late Pope Francis described a “technocratic paradigm” in remarks at the World Economic Forum in January, which “perceives all the world’s problems as solvable through technological means alone.”
However, other Christian groups have embraced blockchain technology and crypto as a means of furthering their mission.
In August 2024, a Colorado church, One Hope of Colorado, tokenized the historic Old Stone Church in Fort Collins on the Polymesh blockchain. One Hope was renting the church at the time and was hoping to raise money to purchase the property.
Pastor Blake Bush from the Church highlighted the community aspect of cryptocurrencies, stating: “The idea of tokenizing the Old Stone Church building to allow for community-aided ownership and preservation came into my heart when I started learning about blockchain technology.”
With Bitcoin, you reap what you sow
For other Christians, Bitcoin specifically provides a more ethical form of money than fiat, aligned with biblical principles.
Jordan Bush (no relation to Blake), a former pastor and missionary, founded the Thank God for Bitcoin podcast. Its stated goal is to “educate and equip Christians to understand Bitcoin and use it for the glory of God and the good of people everywhere.”
A former pastor and missionary, Bush tells Magazine that Bitcoin can be a powerful tool for Christians. While preaching in Montevideo, Uruguay, years ago, he came into contact with Venezuelan refugees fleeing from the dire economic situation in their home country.
“We start asking these people why they’re there and what’s going on. And as we’re giving them food and as we’re helping them buy furniture, as we’re doing all the normal ministry stuff, a lot of them just basically said, ‘It’s because our government destroyed our currency.’”
“I got into Bitcoin, and as I started just thinking about the consequences of these issues and the consequences of money printing, the consequences of bad monetary policy, I started to wonder if we could try to do something very similar with Bitcoin because there’s a moral argument to be made.”
The fiat money system makes it harder for the people to get what they need, Bush says, as it “basically allows governments and central banks to create money out of thin air at no cost in a way that gives themselves basically unlimited amounts of power, control, influence.”
“They effectively institute a system that gives them godlike power and denies sowing and reaping by saying, ‘Hey, we can reap where we haven’t sown. Debt is just money we owe ourselves. You know, scarcity governs all of you plebs, but it doesn’t govern us.’”
For Bush, this flies in the face of what is taught in the Bible, primarily, regarding the metaphor of “reaping what one sows” from Galatians 6:7-9.
“A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life,” wrote the Apostle Paul.
By not reaping that which is sown, the fiat money system conflicts with how the scriptures say the world is designed to work, says Bush.
The goal of his project, Thank God for Bitcoin, at the end of the day, is to get Christians to think more about money and the effect it has on their spiritual lives.
“We want to shine a light on history and talk about the darkness of what’s going on: this is how this system works and these are the consequences.”
“My goal is to change people’s hearts and minds and and get them to the point where they don’t want to live in a rent-seeking world, right? Where they themselves don’t want to be rent seekers and where they themselves don’t want to get something for nothing.”
Bush clarifies that he doesn’t think Bitcoin is a panacea.
“Money is basically a medium. It’s a force to mediate value between two people to get both sides of a transaction. The thing that they really need, which is the food or the clothes or the whatever it is.”
Crypto and Jewish law
Under Jewish law, crypto cannot be considered money, writes Rabbi Yehuda Shurpin of the Chabad of St. Louis Park. A currency is “defined as something that the sovereign government declared as the legal tender of the country, and/or is the generally accepted currency used in that locale.”
Instead, Bitcoin is considered a commodity. “Practically, that means that if you borrow Bitcoin from someone, you need to return the value of the Bitcoin you borrowed, not actual Bitcoin.”
This is based on the principle of se’ah b’se’ah (measure for a measure), in which loans of merchandise “need to be made based on the merchandise’s value at the time it was borrowed.”
“This principle is not merely an academic discussion about some ancient legal quirk; it remains ever relevant today,” Rabbi Daniel Friedman, an acting associate rabbi at the Park East Synagogue in New York, tells Magazine.
“For example, the rabbis debate whether people living in Israel may borrow and repay American dollars at an equal USD value. Or, to avoid paying or charging interest, must you calculate the shekel equivalent on the days of the loan extension and repayment — and add or subtract accordingly?”
What makes something a store of value or a currency?
People have been discussing what makes one currency or good worth more than another for thousands of years, longer than Bitcoin has been around. Friedman says that the key takeaway from the Talmud is “undoubtedly the indeterminate value of material commodities.”
“How much are apples and oranges worth? Whatever the market – i.e., the population generally – believes they’re worth. How much are gold and silver worth? Whatever the market believes they’re worth. How much are dollars and shekels worth? Whatever the market believes they’re worth.”
He relates the tale of Yankel, the poor tailor from Pinsk, who could never save up enough money. Hearing that there is a faraway island with beaches made of diamonds, he sails off and, on arriving, sees that the rumors are true.
He can’t believe how rich he’s become, filling his pockets, hat and knapsack with diamonds. But when he goes to a restaurant to celebrate his success, the waiter says, “I don’t think you understand […] diamonds are worth nothing on this island! The currency here is fish!”
Yankel becomes a successful fisherman and a wealthy man by the island’s standards. He amasses his wealth and writes ahead to his wife to make a down payment on a mansion.
Once he returns home to Pinsk, he tries to complete a payment on a house with three boatloads of, by that time, rotted, stinking fish. The bank manager refuses him.
Yankel is distraught as he has no idea how he will pay off the house. He goes home, lies down to bed, and a lone diamond falls out of his pocket. His wife picks it up and takes it to the bank, where he pays off the whole house.
Friedman writes that “Nothing in this world has inherent value. […] It all depends on supply, demand, and perceived value. Similarly, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are valuable because large numbers of people globally have determined that they should be considered valuable.”
He says that, just like gold, “there’s nothing that makes it expensive other than the fact that we’ve designated it as a precious commodity.”
“What is the only truly valuable commodity? Spiritual investments. They will only ever appreciate in value — during your lifetime on Earth and beyond for all eternity.”
Aaron Wood
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