Cryptocurrency is still being discussed widely among Islamic scholars and institutions around the globe.
Yes
In 2018, the Grand Mufti of Egypt banned Bitcoin trading as it was prone to risks for the traders due to the price fluctuations.
Haitham Al-Hasan, a British Muslim scholar, also considered cryptocurrencies not halal since it is a virtual currency with "no tangible worth".
Similar views have also shared by individual Muslim scholars in countries such as Turkey, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia.
Ms Madera said cryptocurrency was such a "hot topic" in the Muslim world.
She added, the new Islamic decree would less likely impact the decisions of cryptocurrency investors, and instead be an "an eye-opener" for investors or those who are about to enter the market.
"The more people wanted to know whether it's halal or Hara am, the more they are going to learn about cryptocurrencies," she said.
"And I haven't seen yet a drop in numbers of interest."
Gus Führer said fatwa were not rigid and the views of Islamic scholars on crypto trading may change.
"The fatwa is dynamic. If [cryptocurrencies] no longer contain an element of speculation and … if there is an official regulation from the state which protects it from speculators, then we will have no issues."
He emphasized the fatwa at the moment was aimed at protecting the community.
"Everyone wants to make a profit, right? But please don't speculate" he said.
What if cryptocurrencies collapse because they were not built on a valid and strong foundation, what will happen?
"That's why we have to be careful."
And for Mr Najib, there is a possibility for him to get back into investing in cryptocurrencies in the future.
"When the expert changes [their] view, it's fine, we can also follow it again … if there is an updated fatwa, then I will follow it again."
Ainu Najib is an Indonesian NU member based in Singapore who works in IT.
He only started investing in cryptocurrencies in January 2021.
He said he knew about the halal and Hara am controversy, but there was no official fatwa from any religious organizations at that time.
He considered buying Bitcoin just like buying land or gold, but in a digital form which was protected by "mathematically impenetrable encryption".
"I initially intended [to keep bitcoin] as an asset, as my long-term savings. By long term, I'm talking about 10 to 20 years."
But in less than a year Mr Najib decided to release all his bitcoin assets worth $45,000 in total.
"Because of the fatwa [from NU East Java]," he said, explaining the reasons behind his decision.
According to Indonesia's Ministry of Trade data, the number of crypto investors in the country had grown from 4 million people at the end of 2020, to 6.5 million people by the end of May 2021.
It has exceeded the number of investors in the share market, which is around 2.4 million, according to Bank Indonesia — the central bank.
Putrid Madeira, a certified financial planner and founder of Halal VES TOR, a Shariah financial planner and education service in Jakarta, said the flourishing interest in crypto investing in Indonesia was partly due to social media, especially TikTok.
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