A Study on the Proprietary Value of “Cryptocurrencies” with a look at the jurisprudential thought of Imam Khomeini (RA)

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Javad Soltanifard

Assistant Professor, Department of Fiqh and Islamic Law, Shahid Motahari University, Tehran, Iran

10.22067/jfiqh.2024.83559.1618

Abstract

One of the emerging forms of money that has attracted increasing attention in contemporary global economic transactions is cryptocurrency. Due to its novelty, numerous ambiguities surround the nature of cryptocurrency and give rise to confusion within society. One of the central obstacles to the legal (sharʿī) legitimacy of cryptocurrency transactions lies in the requirement that both countervalues in a sale possess proprietary value. The present study uses a descriptive–analytical method and emphasizes the views of Imam Khomeini. The study concludes that: First, proprietary value is a customary and abstract concept grounded in rational demand. Second, cryptocurrencies satisfy the criterion of proprietary value, as their transactional convenience has resulted in steadily increasing global demand, thereby warranting their classification as property. And third, that the lawmaker cannot strip an object of its proprietary value as such, but may only bar the legal consequences of property from taking effect (for example, the transfer of ownership in the case of wine). Accordingly, contrary to the views of some jurists, the absence of prohibition does not count as an essential element of its proprietary value.

Keywords

proprietary value

property

exchange value

cryptocurrency

digital currency

Imam Khomeini

Subjects

• Civil jurisprudence

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