USD1
USD1#31USD1 is a US dollar stablecoin branded by World Liberty Financial and issued by BitGo.
Does not clear all 8 Shariah criteria. Needs caution: interest (riba), nature of the asset, excessive uncertainty (gharar), usage, and benefit and harm (maslahah). Fails: business model.
- 2 pass
- 5 caution
- 1 fail
Verdict history
- DoubtfulCurrent
First publication
Fundamentals, market picture and news will appear here.
Halal analysis
Can a Muslim hold USD1?8 Shariah criteria
2 pass · 5 caution · 1 failThe token itself pays no interest, but World Liberty Financial and exchanges have paid WLFI-token rewards to people for holding USD1 balances, which works like a return on money held.
Riba means interest, or any fixed increase on a loan or on an exchange of money. BitGo's minting and redemption terms state that the token itself does not generate any interest or return for holders, and World Liberty Financial's risk disclosures say holders are not entitled to the reserve earnings; BitGo and World Liberty Financial keep that income, which is assessed under business model. On its own design, then, USD1 in a holder's own wallet earns nothing. The problem is the reward programmes around it.
World Liberty Financial's points programme rewards holding USD1 balances on certain platforms, supplying it to lending markets and staking it, and those points have been paid out in WLFI tokens: World Liberty Financial funded an 8.4 million WLFI airdrop to early participants in October 2025, and Binance paid US$40M of WLFI from January to February 2026 in proportion to users' USD1 balances, calculated as an effective annual rate. A reward for keeping money deposited is, in substance, a return on money held, and money deposited with a platform is treated in Islamic finance as a loan to it. No source says these rewards are paid from reserve interest, and joining them is optional, so the token itself does not fail; but interest-like returns are built into how USD1 is promoted, which puts this criterion at caution. Separately, Malaysia's Securities Commission Shariah Advisory Council classes currency-backed digital currencies as currency, so exchanging them follows the rules of currency exchange (bay' al-sarf: on the spot, and at equal amounts for the same currency). The ruling covers assets under the SC's jurisdiction; applying it to USD1 is Liberandum's reading.
USD1 is a redeemable dollar claim on a simple, examined reserve, but only BitGo clients can redeem it and authorities disagree on whether crypto tokens are property (mal).
Mal is property that Islamic law recognises as having value and that can be owned and traded. Each USD1 is a promise by BitGo to pay one dollar. At 31 July 2026 BitGo reported US$4.00B of redemption assets against 3.997B tokens, all in bank deposits and a US government money market fund, and KPMG found that report fairly stated.
The reserves sit in segregated accounts for holders, but holders have only a contractual claim, with no property interest in any reserve asset, and only BitGo clients who pass identity and sanctions checks can redeem directly; everyone else relies on selling on exchanges. On property, Malaysia's SC Shariah Advisory Council (2020) recognises digital currencies as mal and treats currency-backed ones as currency, within the SC's jurisdiction. Egypt's Dar al-Ifta (2017), the UAE General Authority of Islamic Affairs (2018), Turkey's Diyanet (2017) and Indonesia's MUI (2021) reject cryptocurrency in general or in most forms, and the OIC Fiqh Academy (2019) deferred a ruling. None of them names USD1. Because authoritative bodies disagree, this criterion cannot be 'pass'.
USD1 is built to stay at US$1, not to be bet on; its price stayed close to the peg.
Maysir means gambling, or gains that depend purely on chance; ordinary price movement is not maysir. USD1 is designed to hold one dollar and traded at about US$0.9995 on 27 September 2026. CoinGecko records an all-time high of US$1.048 and low of US$0.9888, both on 9 July 2026, but its hourly prices around that day stayed between about US$0.9987 and US$1.0000, so these look like brief prints on single venues. Its largest markets are spot pairs, led by Binance, where it serves as a quote currency for other coins.
Leveraged trading and incentive campaigns elsewhere in the World Liberty Financial ecosystem are assessed under their own headings, not as a gambling feature of the token.
The income behind USD1 is interest on its reserves, kept by BitGo and World Liberty Financial, far above the 5% limit; the brand owner also runs an interest-based lending interface.
This criterion looks at how the issuer and the business behind a token earn. If 5% or more of that income comes from clearly impermissible sources such as interest, the criterion fails. World Liberty Financial's USD1 risk disclosures state that BitGo and the World Liberty Financial parties benefit from net fees earned from interest on the reserves backing USD1. At 31 July 2026 about 72% of the reserves (US$2.90B) were in a US government money market fund, which earns interest from short-term government debt, and the rest (US$1.10B) in bank deposit accounts.
Neither company publishes revenue by source, but with the reserve itself run on interest, interest income is on any measure far above 5%. In addition, World Liberty Financial operates WLFI Markets, an interface for interest-bearing lending and borrowing through Dolomite, and rewards supplying USD1 to it with points. The counter-view is serious: holders receive none of the reserve interest, and some advisers, such as Sharlife for fiat-backed stablecoins in general, look only at the holder's side. The test still applies to the income behind the token.
Reserves are simple, reported monthly and the latest report was examined by KPMG, but the token contract is upgradeable, the issuer can freeze tokens, and the brand owner's governance and 2026 lending episode raise questions.
Gharar means excessive uncertainty or lack of transparency in a deal. Much is clear: reserves are limited to cash, short-term Treasuries, Treasury-backed repo and government money market funds; the July 2026 report lists the exact fund and amounts; and KPMG examined it with reasonable assurance. Some uncertainty remains. The report checks two dates a month rather than the whole period, and in October 2025 NYDIG criticised USD1 for late reports (none yet for August or September 2025).
On Ethereum USD1 is an upgradeable proxy contract, upgraded most recently on 5 April 2026, and BitGo may freeze tokens at its discretion. The brand owner, World Liberty Financial, is part-owned (about 38%) by an entity tied to Donald Trump and family members, and its disclosures acknowledge conflicts of interest. In April 2026 CoinDesk reported that World Liberty Financial borrowed about US$75M against its own WLFI token on Dolomite, draining the USD1 lending pool so other depositors could not withdraw, while about US$38.5M of new USD1 was minted over the following days. This is partial opacity around a regulated issuer, not the undisclosed minting or use of reserves that would mean fail.
USD1 is used mainly as a trading and settlement dollar, but its own ecosystem actively steers it into interest-based lending, and the share of that use is not measured.
This criterion looks at what the asset is used for in practice. Most USD1 activity is permissible in itself: it is a quote and settlement currency on exchanges, led by Binance, and in 2025 it settled a US$2B investment by MGX in Binance. But World Liberty Financial promotes lending of USD1: its points programme rewards supplying USD1 to WLFI Markets (at least 1,000 USD1 through Dolomite), staking it on third-party platforms and simply holding balances on partner exchanges, with rewards paid in WLFI tokens, and in April 2026 the USD1 pool on Dolomite was drawn to nearly 100% utilisation.
Lending for interest is an impermissible use. No source measures what share of USD1 sits in lending markets, so the criterion is caution rather than pass.
USD1 can be bought spot with full payment on major exchanges and held in one's own wallet on several blockchains.
This criterion asks whether the asset can be owned in a permissible way. USD1 trades spot, with full payment and delivery, on exchanges such as Binance, and it is a standard token on Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Solana and other networks, so it can be withdrawn to a self-custody wallet; Etherscan counted 43,495 Ethereum holders on 27 September 2026. BitGo clients can also mint and redeem directly at one dollar per token. Ownership does not depend on derivatives or leveraged wrappers.
USD1 gives fast, fully reserved dollar transfers, but it is a revenue source for a company part-owned by the family of a sitting head of state, with acknowledged conflicts of interest.
Maslahah weighs public benefit against harm. The benefit is real: a dollar token issued by a supervised US trust bank, with conservative reserves, that settles around the clock on several blockchains. The harm is disputed but significant. The reserve income goes to BitGo and World Liberty Financial, whose holding company is about 38% owned by an entity tied to Donald Trump and family members, and World Liberty Financial's own disclosures warn that compensation arrangements may create conflicts of interest and that the project depends on the President's popularity.
The April 2026 Dolomite episode, where the brand owner's own borrowing left other USD1 depositors unable to withdraw, shows how those interests can conflict with users'. No enforcement action for fraud or sanctions evasion involving USD1 was found.
How you can use it
Tap a card for the ruling and sourcesBuying USD1 with full payment and immediate delivery is available on major exchanges, and tokens can be moved to a self-custody wallet. Because USD1 is treated as currency under Malaysia's SC reading, exchanging it for another currency should be hand-to-hand (on the spot), and for dollars at equal amounts. Spot is acceptable for a DOUBTFUL asset for those who follow the permissive view.
No exchange-traded fund holding USD1 was found. Any product giving USD1 exposure must be checked for interest income and lending of the tokens before use.
Paying with USD1 is its natural use, but tier-1 bodies such as Indonesia's MUI rule that using cryptocurrency as currency is not permissible, and some countries restrict crypto payments, so payments are treated with caution.
USD1 has no network staking of its own. What platforms call 'staking USD1', which the points programme rewards, is usually lending or a pooled yield product; unless its source is shown to be real work, treat it like lending.
Margin trading with USD1 is never acceptable: it is a deferred exchange with borrowed money and leverage (AAOIFI SS 20).
Futures, perpetuals and options, including those margined in USD1, always fail under AAOIFI SS 20: deferred exchange without delivery, usually with leverage.
Supplying USD1 to WLFI Markets, Dolomite or other lending markets earns a supply rate paid by borrowers. This is interest on a loan of money, which is riba.
USD1 'earn' and yield products are built on lending or on the interest of the underlying reserves, so they pay interest or interest-like returns and fail. The same applies to points and airdrop campaigns that reward keeping USD1 on a platform or supplying it to lending markets, such as the WLFI rewards World Liberty Financial and Binance paid on USD1 balances: they are a return on money deposited.
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.Holding the asset is impermissible as the issuing protocol actively operates a conventional interest-based lending business and derives its core revenue from interest-bearing reserves.The single biggest Shariah consideration is riba: WLFI reportedly earns roughly $80 million annually from Treasury bills and money-market fund interest backing USD1, and an affiliated lending venue, World Liberty Markets, lets holders earn interest-based yield directly within the ecosystem.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
12 exchanges from our coverage · no referral links
KrakenCentralized · USD1/USDCVolume 24h$4.6KReliability7.4Halal productNo halal product- BBybitCentralized · USD1/USDTVolume 24h$4.86MReliability7.1Halal productIslamic account
BinanceCentralized · USD1/USDTVolume 24h$163.16MReliability6.7Halal productShariah-compliant earn
OKXCentralized · USD1/USDTVolume 24h$18.47KReliability6.7Halal productNo halal product
Coinbase ExchangeCentralized · USD1/USDVolume 24h$444.95KReliability6.6Halal productNo halal product
UpbitCentralized · USD1/BTCVolume 24h$23.68Reliability6.5Halal productNo halal product
GateCentralized · USD1/USDTVolume 24h$1.63MReliability5.9Halal productNo halal product
BingXCentralized · USD1/USDTVolume 24h$3.15MReliability5.8Halal productNo halal product
WhiteBITCentralized · USD1/USDTVolume 24h$1.08MReliability5.7Halal productNo halal product
KuCoinCentralized · USD1/USDTVolume 24h$351.85KReliability5.6Halal productNo halal product
BitgetCentralized · USD1/USDTVolume 24h$44.12KReliability5.0Halal productNo halal product
MEXCCentralized · USD1/USDTVolume 24h$30.12MReliability4.7Halal productNo halal product
No exchanges match this filter
Listings as of Sep 18, 2026
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