Ankara: Turkish authorities have announced that Bitcoin is not in accordance with the Islamic religion and has warned their citizens against buying the world’s most powerful cryptocurrency.
The Directorate of Religious Affairs said “Cryptocurrency is widely used for nefarious and illegal activities, and is not sufficiently regulated, making it far more volatile than other currencies.”
“Buying and selling virtual currencies is not compatible with religion at this time because of the fact that their valuation is open to speculation, they can be easily used in illegal activities like money laundering and they are not under the state’s audit and surveillance,” reported NewsWeek.
According to the Turkish media, the religious body at a meeting last Friday took a decision on the digital currency.
Despite the warnings from the government, citizens of Turkey have still invested in Bitcoin. It also acts as a platform for criminal to capitalize on the rise in the currencies value.
The virtual currency hit a high on Wednesday as it rocketed above USD 10,000 in Asia, according to Bloomberg News, more than 10 times higher than its value at the start of the year.
Cryptocurrencies are virtual “coins” that are “mined” by computers completing complex algorithms. Bitcoin is the most famous and widely used one.