The Scholars at Department of Dārul-Iftā' (Wifaqul Ulama) in the United Kingdom issued this fatwā in response to a question about the permissibility of using Bitcoin, a prevalent form of cryptocurrency. The council determines its use to be ḥarām, or impermissible according to their understanding of Islamic law. They determine this on the basis that Bitcoin does not meet a number of necessary characteristics associated with valid currency: namely, it is highly volatile in nature; it carries excessive risks associated with its volatility; and it lacks of validation in the its algorithmically and thus inherently decentralized system of production and economic exchange.