Do I have to pay zakat on cryptocurrency holdings?

Most contemporary scholars and fatwa bodies say yes, though this is a genuinely modern question without direct precedent in classical texts, so approaches vary in detail. The general reasoning is that zakat applies to wealth that grows or is held for its exchange value, and cryptocurrency — whether used as a medium of exchange, held as an investment, or actively traded — functions similarly to currency or trade goods, both established categories of zakatable wealth. If you actively trade crypto for profit, treat your holdings like trade merchandise: value the full portfolio at market price on your zakat date and pay 2.5%. If you hold coins long-term as a store of value, treat them similarly to cash savings, since a growing number of scholars view such assets as functioning like money, and apply the same 2.5%, nisab, and hawl rules. A minority of scholars remain cautious about zakat obligations on assets they see as speculative or lacking full recognition as currency, but the mainstream position, reflected in rulings from several international fiqh academies, treats crypto zakat much like cash or trade goods.

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