We are looking forward to having it blessed, but we're not looking forward to having a Sharia council because it's a burden."
While Islamic scholars have long wrestled with the question of whether cryptocurrency is halal, what if it’s really fiat that isn’t permissible?

Islam has strict rules around finance, and it historically defines currency as commodities with intrinsic value — gold, silver, or salt, among others. Waseem Mamlouk, from the DeFi platform Nimbus, argues that government-issued fiat currencies do not have any intrinsic value and may be incompatible with a careful interpretation of Sharia law. This would pose a problem for the burgeoning Islamic finance industry, which aims to produce financial returns in compliance with religious law.
Source: DeFi can be halal but not DOGE? Decentralizing Islamic finance

A working paper released in English by the People’s Bank of China cites cryptocurrencies as an important context for the digital yuan’s development and reveals that the digital currency will use smart contracts to allow for programmability.
Much attention has been paid to the global, geopolitical implications of China’s rapid and pioneering development of its digital yuan, also provisionally known as e-CNY.

Yet in a new white paper published by the Working Group on E-CNY Research and Development of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), the institution gave a more domestic-focused and technologically-driven vision of the new currency’s background and key objectives.
Source: China’s central bank says crypto gave impetus to the creation of its CBDC

The crypto exchange gave no indication as to the reason, stating only that it would be shifting its “commercial focus to other product offerings.”
Binance’s highly popular stock tokens, a relatively recent offering, are being wound down immediately. In an announcement published on Friday, the exchange announced that “effective immediately,” stock tokens are unavailable for purchase on Binance.com. As of October 14, 2021, at 7:55 pm UTC, the exchange will no longer support stock tokens at all.
Source: Binance stops stock token sales, ‘effective immediately’

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro shows NFT-related platforms like AUDIO, AXS and SLP as the top 24-hour gainers of the day.
Today the wider cryptocurrency market finds itself looking for something to spark some momentum as Bitcoin (BTC) price dropped to $32,300 and altcoins sustained 2% to 5% losses.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the top three performers over the past 24 hours are Audius (AUDIO), Axie Infinity (AXS) and Small Love Potion (SLP).
Source: Nonfungible tokens soar even as Bitcoin price drops close to $32,000

This DeFi platform is planning to accept NFTs as collateral — allowing borrowers to unlock liquidity from their crypto collectibles.
A DeFi platform has launched a lending and borrowing network that allows nonfungible tokens to be used as collateral.

ETNA Network says it is developing a suite of products that are designed to work in an interconnected manner — creating a tangible use case for NFTs in the process.

The project’s DeBank also enables those who hold ETNA, the platform’s native cryptocurrency, to access loans on an interest-free basis.
Source: This DeFi platform allows NFTs to be used as collateral for loans

The bearish outlook surfaces as Bitcoin prices form a classic cup and handle pattern, now in the last stage of its maturity.
Popular cryptocurrency trader Keith Wareing warned Bitcoin (BTC) traders about a critical bearish scenario brewing in the market.

The trader spotted Bitcoin inside an inverse cup-and-handle pattern earlier this month, a bearish structure that forms during a price wave downward, followed by a stabilizing period. The technical design typically leads the price lower by as much as the size of the previous decline.
Source: Bitcoin price is 3–4 weeks away from new $24K–$29K range, market analyst warns

As Bitcoin succeeds, it will have a relationship with Elon Musk, and there is every reason to believe that the relationship will be toxic.
On July 8, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert hosted an Elon Musk-inspired show in Austin, Texas. Aptly named “F*ck Elon,” the event, which included a large number of Bitcoin (BTC) maximalists, was surely a rowdy affair. Keiser is known for many things, but restraint is not necessarily one of them.

Although we can debate the merits of such a provocatively titled party, Musk’s divisiveness is certainly not up for debate. Earlier this year, the Bitcoin community — including the maximalists — were vocal supporters of Musk. He saw value in Bitcoin and Bitcoin saw value in Musk, one of the most influential people on the planet. In many ways, it was a match made in heaven.
Source: Elon Musk and Bitcoin: A toxic relationship