Global Dollar
USDG#33Global Dollar is a US dollar stablecoin issued by regulated Paxos companies.
- Market cap
- $3.17B
- Volume 24h
- $455.49M
- All-time high
- $1.65
- −39.38% from ATH
- Circulating supply
- 3.25B
Does not clear all 8 Shariah criteria. Needs caution: interest (riba), nature of the asset, and usage. Fails: business model.
- 4 pass
- 3 caution
- 1 fail
Verdict history
- DoubtfulCurrent
First publication
Fundamentals, market picture and news will appear here.
Halal analysis
Can a Muslim hold Global Dollar?8 Shariah criteria
4 pass · 3 caution · 1 failThe token pays its holder no interest, but USDG is built to pass the interest on its reserves to partner platforms, and some offer customers opt-in rewards.
Riba means interest, or any fixed increase on a loan or on an exchange of money. USDG's white paper says holders are not entitled to any interest earned on the reserves, and redemption is one dollar per token. So a person who simply holds USDG in their own wallet receives nothing. But the token's economics are designed around sharing that interest.
The Global Dollar Network pays partners rewards on the USDG balances held on their platforms, offering up to 100% of the returns generated by the reserve assets behind those balances; those reserves are Treasury bills, repo and government money market funds, which earn interest. That is interest from reserves paid out in proportion to balances, but to the partner platform, not to the holder of the token. Some platforms offer customers rewards of their own: on 26 September 2026 Kraken offered retail USDG holders who switch the programme on up to 4.50% APY, depending on region, for Kraken+ subscribers (up to 2.25% for others). Kraken says it funds that programme entirely itself, while also stating that it receives an economic benefit from USDG minted, held on its platform and received in transfers. Because interest reaches holders only through such separate, opt-in platform programmes, and a self-custody holder earns nothing, this criterion is caution rather than fail; the reward programmes themselves fail under yield products below, and the interest-based income is counted under business model. Malaysia's SC Shariah Advisory Council treats currency-backed digital currencies as currency, so exchanging them follows the rules of currency exchange (on the spot, and at equal amounts for the same currency); applying this to USDG is Liberandum's reading.
USDG is a regulated, redeemable claim on segregated dollar reserves, but authorities disagree on whether crypto tokens count as property (mal).
Each USDG can be redeemed one-to-one for US dollars from Paxos by verified customers, within at most five business days. Reserves must be held in cash, government debt of up to three months, overnight repo backed by US government securities, or government money market funds, in segregated accounts held for holders and out of reach of Paxos's creditors. The issuers are supervised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and, in the EU, by Finland's FIN-FSA under MiCA. That is a strong claim on real assets.
The limit is scholarly: Malaysia's SC Shariah Advisory Council recognises digital assets as property (mal) and classes currency-backed ones as currency, within the SC's jurisdiction (applying it to USDG is Liberandum's reading), while state fatwa bodies in Egypt and the UAE rejected cryptocurrency in general, Indonesia's MUI held it haram as currency, and a 2026 Darul Uloom Karachi fatwa says crypto tokens are not mal. Because recognised bodies disagree, this criterion is caution rather than pass.
USDG is built to stay at US$1 and is used to hold and move dollars, not to bet on price.
Maysir means gambling, or gains that depend purely on chance; ordinary price movement is not maysir. USDG traded at US$0.9999 on 27 September 2026. CoinGecko records a low of US$0.908 and a high of US$1.65 in its thin first months of trading (November 2024 and January 2025), but not since. People hold USDG for its dollar value, for payments and settlement, or for platform rewards, not to profit from price swings. Its use on exchanges as collateral for leveraged trading is a problem of those products, assessed under trading mechanisms.
The income behind USDG is interest on Treasury bills, repo and money market funds, shared between Paxos and its network partners.
This criterion looks at how the issuer earns. If 5% or more of income comes from clearly impermissible sources such as interest, the criterion fails. USDG reserves may only be held in cash, short-term government debt, overnight reverse repo and government money market funds; all but cash earn interest. Paxos does not publish revenue for USDG, but the network's stated purpose is to distribute the returns on those reserves: it offers partners up to 100% of the returns on reserves behind USDG held on their platforms, and at launch said it would return virtually all rewards to participants.
So interest is not a side income here but the product itself, and it is far above the 5% limit. Unlike Tether, Paxos gives most of this income away, but to the partner platforms, not to charity, and what matters is the source of the income, not who keeps it. CryptoUmmah likewise names interest as USDG's core economic engine.
Reserves are restricted to cash-like assets, segregated and attested monthly by KPMG, and the contract code is public and audited.
Gharar means excessive uncertainty or lack of transparency in a deal. USDG's reserve rules are narrow (cash, government debt of up to three months, overnight repo backed by US government securities, government money market funds), reserves are segregated for holders, and Paxos publishes monthly reserve composition reports and independent attestations, issued by KPMG since February 2026. Tokens can only be minted when dollars are already in the reserve account. The contract code is published and audited by Zellic and Trail of Bits.
Remaining uncertainty is moderate: the contract is upgradeable, Paxos can freeze and wipe balances at an address and pause transfers, and redemption can be delayed for compliance review. The latest reserve breakdown could not be read from Paxos's own report for this review, so this is a low pass.
USDG is used for payments and settlement, but much of its holding is driven by reward programmes funded from reserve interest.
USDG's intended uses, payments, settlement and treasury balances, are permissible in themselves, and more than 400 organisations are listed as building with it. But the network's growth model pays platforms for USDG held on them, and platforms such as Kraken advertise rewards of up to 4.50% APY on USDG balances. Holding a dollar token to earn a return linked to interest is a disputed use, and no source measures what share of the roughly US$3.2B in circulation sits in such programmes. About US$1.5B is on X Layer, the network of the OKX exchange, and about US$0.7B on Robinhood Chain.
Because a notable share of use is likely reward-driven, this criterion is caution.
USDG can be bought outright and held in full, on exchanges or directly from Paxos.
This criterion asks only whether the token can be owned in a normal, fully paid way. USDG can be bought on the spot on exchanges including Kraken and Robinhood, and verified Paxos customers can mint and redeem it directly at US$1. Holders can keep it in their own wallets on Ethereum, Solana and other networks. It does not exist only as a leveraged or derivative product. Holding it outside any rewards programme is possible.
USDG gives regulated, fast access to dollars; no notable pattern of misuse was found, and the issuer screens and freezes illicit funds.
Maslahah means weighing public benefit against harm. USDG offers fast, low-cost dollar transfers and settlement under the supervision of the Singapore and EU regulators, with reserves protected from the issuer's insolvency. The white paper says Chainalysis monitors transactions, and redemption is refused for tokens used in illegal or sanctioned activity. No specific reports tying USDG to large-scale fraud or sanctions evasion were found in this review. The main harm is indirect: the reward model encourages holding dollars for an interest-linked return.
How you can use it
Tap a card for the ruling and sourcesBuying USDG outright with full, immediate payment is acceptable for an asset rated DOUBTFUL. If USDG is treated as money, the exchange should be on the spot and at equal value for dollars. Do not opt into reward programmes on the balance.
Not available: no exchange-traded fund holds USDG.
Paying with USDG is its intended use, but Indonesia's MUI (tier 1) holds that using cryptocurrency as currency is haram, so this is caution.
Not available natively: USDG is not a proof-of-stake coin, so there is no validation work to be paid for. Products marketed as USDG staking or earn pay returns from lending or reserve interest, which fall under lending and yield.
Always fail: borrowing to trade with leverage, without full delivery.
Always fail: futures, perpetuals and options are deferred exchanges without delivery, with leverage.
Lending USDG for a return is interest on a loan of money (riba).
Platform rewards on USDG balances, such as Kraken's opt-in rewards of up to 4.50% APY, are offered by network partners, which the Global Dollar Network offers up to 100% of the reserve returns on the USDG held on their platforms; Kraken says it funds its programme itself but receives an economic benefit from the USDG held with it. The money therefore traces back to reserve interest. ShariaQuant rates these partner rewards haram and says any rewards received should be given away in full.
Scholars quotes
Penggunaan cryptocurrency sebagai mata uang hukumnya haram, karena mengandung gharar (ketidakjelasan), dharar (bahaya) dan bertentangan dengan Undang-Undang nomor 7 tahun 2011 tentang Mata Uang dan Peraturan Bank Indonesia nomor 17 tahun 2015 tentang Kewajiban Penggunaan Rupiah di Wilayah Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia.Sebagaimana mata wang yang lain, mata wang digital hendaklah tidak digunakan sebagai bayaran kepada barangan, perkhidmatan dan aktiviti tidak patuh Syariah seperti pembelian dadah, pelacuran, perjudian dan pendanaan aktiviti keganasan serta penggubahan wang haram.If a digital currency is backed by ribawi items comprising gold, silver and currency, it is categorised as a currency from Shariah perspective. Hence, the trading of such digital currency is subject to the principle of bai` al-sarf.Third: In light of the above and given the significant risks associated with this type of currencies and the instability of their transactions, the Council of the Academy recommends pursuing research and studies on issues affecting its ruling.Bitcoin is a digital currency that does not meet the legal and Sharia criteria that make it a currency subject to the rulings of dealing with official legal currencies recognized internationally.بناءً على ذلك: فلا يجوز شرعًا تداول عملة "البتكوين" والتعامل من خلالها بالبيعِ والشراءِ والإجارةِ وغيرها، بل يُمنع من الاشتراكِ فيها؛ لعدمِ اعتبارِها كوسيطٍ مقبولٍ للتبادلِ من الجهاتِ المخُتصَّةِ، ولِمَا تشتمل عليه من الضررِ الناشئ عن الغررِ والجهالةِ والغشِّ في مَصْرِفها ومِعْيارها وقِيمتها، فضلًا عما تؤدي إليه ممارستُها من مخاطرَ عاليةٍ على الأفراد والدول.However, simply buying and holding USDG receives a Doubtful rating.According to research and opinion of experts so far, cryptocurrency is not considered ‘ maal ’ (wealth) in Sharia.Muhammadiyah memandang transaksi dan investasi kripto pada dasarnya mubah (boleh) tetapi dengan syarat tertentu.The opinion on this is the same as doing the same with any halal assets such as shares – 1) is permissible, 2) is more debatable and there are differing opinions on short-term trading.Our current position is 'tawaquf'; we can't say it is halal or haram, but we say it is better not to engage in itFiat-backed stablecoins are generally considered permissible, fully backed by the underlying currency or not, as long as this information is transparently disclosed to the users.As I mentioned at the beginning of this article it is not necessary to substantiate the permissibility of something as long as there are no prohibited factors involved in it or surrounding it.AI-assisted analysis checked against sources. Not a fatwa or investment advice.
Where it trades
6 exchanges from our coverage · no referral links
KrakenCentralized · USDG/USDCVolume 24h$4.55MReliability7.4Halal productNo halal product
OKXCentralized · USDG/USDTVolume 24h$19.39MReliability6.7Halal productNo halal product
UpbitCentralized · USDG/KRWVolume 24h$32.22KReliability6.5Halal productNo halal product
GateCentralized · USDG/USDTVolume 24h$261.64KReliability5.9Halal productNo halal product
KuCoinCentralized · USDG/USDTVolume 24h$334.57KReliability5.6Halal productNo halal product
BithumbCentralized · USDG/KRWVolume 24h$22.7KReliability3.9Halal productNo halal product
No exchanges match this filter
Listings as of Sep 18, 2026
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