A Milestone for Shariah-Compliant Finance
Doha, Qatar – September 8 – The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), one of the region’s leading onshore financial and business hubs, has launched a pioneering proof of concept (POC) through its Digital Asset Lab. This initiative marks a significant step forward in applying blockchain technology to Islamic finance.
The POC introduces a blockchain-based Digital Receipt System (DRS) designed to improve transparency, efficiency, and regulatory compliance in Shariah-compliant, asset-backed finance.
Built on Hedera Technology and Google Cloud
The new system will operate on HashSphere, a private, permissioned distributed ledger built on Hedera technology and deployed via Google Cloud through QFC’s Digital Asset Lab.
This collaborative project brings together leading organizations, each providing key expertise:
- QFC Digital Asset Lab – Orchestrates the initiative with infrastructure and regulatory oversight.
- Hashgraph – Delivers and operates the underlying blockchain infrastructure, ensuring secure and scalable network performance.
- Blade Labs – Leads the development of the DRS, including smart contracts and user interfaces tailored to Islamic finance use cases.
- AlRayan Bank – Plays a critical role in validating the system’s functionality, offering domain-specific insights and exploring commercialisation pathways.
- Google Cloud – Provides enterprise-grade infrastructure for deployment.
Yousuf Mohamed Al-Jaida, CEO of QFC, said:
“At QFC, we are committed to building a strong digital asset ecosystem that supports innovation and real-world applications. Through our Digital Assets Lab, we’re proud to facilitate this pilot as a step forward in exploring how blockchain can bring greater efficiency and scalability to Shariah-compliant financial products. This initiative reflects our continued support for tokenisation, financial innovation, and collaboration aligned with the Third Financial Sector Strategic Plan.”
Omar Al Emadi, Acting GCEO of AlRayan Bank, added:
“Innovation is a cornerstone of Islamic finance, and this initiative reflects AlRayan Bank’s commitment to advancing Shariah-compliant financial solutions that meet the evolving needs of the market. Through our participation in this proof of concept, we reaffirm our role in validating the system’s functionality and laying the groundwork for scalable, practical applications that can strengthen the future of Islamic finance while reinforcing Qatar’s position as a regional hub for financial innovation.”
Sami Mian, CEO of Blade Labs, noted:
“The Digital Receipt System POC will showcase that blockchain, smart contracts, and global identity standards can address the operational bottlenecks that currently prevent Islamic finance institutions from scaling certain Shariah-compliant asset-backed products. By providing a controlled environment to measure actual business outcomes, institutions can evaluate whether this technology approach solves problems worth solving before making larger commitments.”
Eric Piscini, CEO of Hashgraph, emphasized:
“HashSphere is built to deliver the trust, performance, and regulatory confidence that today’s financial systems demand. Backed by the scalability and security of Hedera’s enterprise-grade technology, this collaboration highlights how the right infrastructure can unlock new possibilities in both Islamic finance and broader financial innovation.”
Accelerating Financial Innovation
This initiative is a bold demonstration of collaborative innovation in financial services. By uniting blockchain infrastructure, Islamic finance expertise, and cloud technology, the QFC Digital Asset Lab is enabling the co-creation of new digital products and paving the way for scalable, real-world applications in Shariah-compliant finance.
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