Islamic Digital Currency and Entrepreneurship

The importance of digital currency cannot be overemphasized in the modern world. It simplifies and fast-tracks payment systems, reduces transaction costs, promotes digital start-ups, strengthens transparency through smart contracts, and increases efficiency. In fact, a competitive business environment favors innovative entrepreneurs who are digitally oriented. Recently, a couple of Islamic digital coins, which are ethically oriented and Sharia-compliant, emerged in the cryptocurrency market. Thus, this chapter focused on the emergence of Sharia-compliant digital coins and their potential role in accelerating entrepreneurship and scaling up business activities in the economy. Specifically, the study used a case study of Islamic Coin, a digital native of Haqq Blockchain. We utilized personal observations and gathered secondary data from Islamic Coin’s whitepaper, websites, blogs, and social media accounts. To demystify the Islamic Coin, we traced its background, explored its collaborative and community-building activities, assessed its ecosystem grant funding to empower both potential and existing entrepreneurs, and identified some potential challenges that may challenge its foundational objective of impacting the real economy. The chapter concluded that the major difference between conventional crypto and Islamic Coin is “ethical screening”. Thus, we recommended more campaigns with wider outreach about the role of digital currency in simplifying payments and empowering start-ups. This can help curtail speculative behavior and educate users on the entrepreneurial opportunities available in crypto space.