Key takeaways
- Zakat on wealth is usually 2.5% of the value of zakatable assets, once they pass the nisab and a lunar year (hawl) has passed.
- Whether crypto counts, and as what, is disputed. Treating it as trade goods valued at market price is one common approach, not the only one.
- Value your holdings in one currency on one date, and keep the price, source and time.
- Zakat and halal screening are separate questions. Each needs its own answer from a scholar.
- Debts, the nisab measure and the zakat date are decisions to confirm with a scholar, not to guess.
The short answer
Zakat is the obligatory annual giving of a share of qualifying wealth. For wealth that is zakatable, the rate usually cited is 2.5%. It applies when your net zakatable wealth is at or above the nisab on your zakat date and has been held for one lunar year. Crypto is not covered by a single settled ruling, so the steps below show the usual method and flag each point where you need a scholar.
If you are still deciding whether holding crypto is permissible at all, start with the Fasset guide on whether crypto is halal. Zakat is a separate question, covered here.
Is crypto zakatable at all?
Zakat falls on wealth that qualifies as property (mal). That is why the property test comes first. The Shariah Advisory Council of Securities Commission Malaysia resolved in 2020 that digital assets are property within its own regulated market. A fatwa by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, reported on 10 July 2026, holds that crypto is not property. The two positions lead to different starting points for zakat, and both are summarised, with sources, in the main halal guide.
Among those who treat crypto as property, a common approach is to class a token bought to resell as trade goods (urud al-tijara). Trade goods are normally valued at their market price on the zakat date, as part of your zakatable wealth. A token held for another purpose, such as use rather than sale, may be treated differently. Your intention when you acquired the asset matters, so a scholar will usually ask what it was.
The calculation, step by step
Fix your zakat date
Zakat is due once a lunar year (hawl) has passed on wealth above the nisab. Many people choose one annual date, often tied to a Hijri month, and calculate everything on it. A lunar year is shorter than a calendar year, so the Gregorian date moves earlier each year.
Check the nisab
The nisab is the minimum threshold. It is traditionally set by reference to gold or silver, and scholars differ on which to use. Look up the current figure from a named authority on your zakat date rather than relying on an old number, and ask which measure your scholar prefers.
List what you own
Add your cash, bank balances, USD account balance, stablecoins, other tokens, goods for trade and money owed to you that you expect to receive. Keep crypto held on exchanges, in wallets and in a USD account in the same list.
Subtract what you owe
Many scholars deduct short-term debts that are due. Treatment of long-term debts, such as a mortgage, varies, so ask how your scholar handles them.
Value everything on the date
Convert each asset into one currency, such as AED, at the market price on your zakat date. See the valuation section below.
Compare with the nisab and apply the rate
If the net total is at or above the nisab, multiply it by 2.5%. If it is below, no zakat is due on that date under the usual method.
A worked example
Illustrative figures, not a real portfolio or a real nisab
Suppose that, on your zakat date, you hold 40,000 AED in bank balances, 20,000 AED worth of tokens bought to resell, and 5,000 AED of short-term debt due. The zakatable net is 40,000 + 20,000 − 5,000 = 55,000 AED. If that is above the nisab you have confirmed for that date, zakat at 2.5% is 55,000 × 0.025 = 1,375 AED. The numbers are invented only to show the arithmetic; they are not a nisab, a price or advice.
Under this method the value is taken on the date, so a fall in price the day after does not change the amount you calculated. Whether you may adjust for a later fall is a question for your scholar.
Valuation and records
Crypto prices move around the clock, so the choice of source and time changes the number. Pick one published price source and one time each year, and keep the same ones. Record the asset, quantity, price, source and timestamp. Where the same token trades at different prices on different venues, note which venue you used.
You can only value what you can show you own, so keep statements from each place you hold assets. When you move assets between venues around your zakat date, take care not to count them twice. If you cash out before the date, the AED you receive is counted as cash; the guide on cashing out crypto to AED in the UAE compares the routes. Charges when you convert are set out on the Fasset fees page.
Common cases
| Holding | What to ask |
|---|---|
| Stablecoins such as USDT | Whether to count them like cash at their market value. See whether USDT is halal for the separate permissibility debate. |
| Tokens bought to resell | Whether they are trade goods valued at market price on the date. |
| Tokens held for use or the long term | Whether your intention changes the treatment. |
| Staking or lending rewards | Whether the rewards are permissible at all, and how to treat any already received. See whether staking is halal. |
| Income from an impermissible source | Whether it should be purified and given away, which is a separate act from zakat. See riba, gharar and maysir explained. |
| A list of questions, not rulings. Scholars differ on each row. | |
What this guide cannot do
It cannot decide whether your crypto is property, fix the nisab for you or set your zakat date. It also does not check a coin. For that, see how to screen a coin yourself and what makes a coin Shariah-compliant. Nor is it tax advice. Who regulates crypto in the UAE is a legal question, covered in the guide on whether crypto is legal in the UAE.
Fasset FZE holds a VARA VASP Licence for Broker-Dealer Services, reference VL/23/07/002, issued on 30 November 2023. That licence covers activity carried on in or from Dubai and is supervision of the firm. It is not a Shariah ruling and does not protect the value of what you hold. Fasset is not a bank: balances are not bank deposits and are not covered by a deposit guarantee scheme. Read the About page for the entities involved and the Fasset FAQ for what the service covers.
Frequently asked questions
How much zakat do I pay on crypto?
If your crypto is zakatable and you owe zakat on it, the usual rate is 2.5% of its value on your zakat date. The rate comes from the general rules of zakat on wealth, not from a crypto-specific ruling, so confirm it and the treatment of your holding with a scholar.
Do I pay zakat on crypto I hold for the long term?
Scholars differ. Some treat crypto held to sell as trade goods, which are zakatable at market value. Others hold that tokens are not property, so the question does not arise. A holding kept for use rather than sale is a separate question again. Ask a scholar about your own intention.
Which date do I use to value my crypto?
Use your zakat date, the day your lunar year completes, and take the market price on that day from a source you can show. Write down the price, the source and the time, because crypto prices move during the day.
Can I pay zakat on crypto in crypto?
Some scholars permit paying in kind and some prefer cash, and the answer can depend on the recipient's need and on the charity's rules. Ask the charity whether it accepts crypto, and ask a scholar whether the form of payment is valid for you.
Does zakat apply to a halal-screened coin only?
No. A screening result and a zakat duty are separate questions. Screening asks whether an asset is permissible to hold. Zakat asks what wealth you own and how it is valued on your zakat date. Take both questions to a scholar.
Does Fasset calculate or pay zakat for me?
This guide does not describe any Fasset zakat feature, and Fasset is not a bank. Read the Fasset FAQ for what the service covers, and use your own records of balances and prices on your zakat date.
Sources
The sources below were not re-opened for this article. The points drawn from the Malaysian resolution, the press report and the VARA register were read for the Fasset guide on whether crypto is halal, on 12 October 2026. The general zakat rules described here (the 2.5% rate, the nisab and the lunar-year condition) are stated as the usual method, not quoted from a document read for this guide, and no zakat authority's page was read for it. Confirm them with a scholar or the zakat authority you use.
- Securities Commission Malaysia, Resolutions of the Shariah Advisory Council: Digital Assets from Shariah Perspective, 233rd and 234th meetings (29 June and 20 July 2020), sc.com.my/development/icm/shariah/resolutions-of-the-shariah-advisory-council-of-the-sc, accessed 12 October 2026.
- The News International (Pakistan), Cryptocurrency transactions impermissible under Shariah: Mufti Taqi Usmani, 10 July 2026, thenews.pk/print/1425134-cryptocurrency-transactions-impermissible-under-shariah-mufti-taqi-usmani, accessed 12 October 2026. A press report; the fatwa's own text was not read.
- AAOIFI, Shari'ah Standards, English volume, aaoifi.com/shariaa-standards/?lang=en, the reference scholars use for contract rules. Its standard on zakah was not read for this article.
- Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, public register entry for Fasset FZE, vara.ae/en/licenses-and-register/public-register/fasset-fze/, accessed 12 October 2026.
Not a ruling and not investment advice
For information only. Not investment, legal, tax or religious advice. This guide describes a calculation method and is not a fatwa. Crypto-assets are volatile, and you may lose the amounts you put in.