Stellar says it is the first distributed ledger protocol to receive Shari’ah compliance certification in the money transfer and asset tokenisation space.
The foundation states that its mission is to promote global financial access and inclusion. It aims to do this by building public, open-source software.
In a boost to its network, the Shariyah Review Bureau (SRB), an advisory agency licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain, has reviewed the properties and applications of Stellar and has promulgated guidance and guidelines that enable Shari’ah compliant applications of Stellar technology in Islamic financial institutions.
This certification extends to applications and usages of lumens (XLM). The latter are Stellar’s unit of digital currency, similar to a Bitcoin.
In partnership with SRB, Steller says this certification will help it grow its ecosystem in regions where financial services require compliance with Islamic financing principles.
For example, Islamic financial institutions in the Gulf Cooperation Council (i.e. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE) and parts of Southeast Asia (e.g. Indonesia and Malaysia) will now be able to integrate Stellar technology in their Shari’ah-compliant product and service offerings.
Stellar adds: “This is a big advancement for the Stellar network given that these regions are endpoints of popular foreign worker remittance corridors.”
