Some assets have a Malaysian Shariah determination. A separate promise of “yield” needs its own evidence.
Sources: SC asset / operator register · SAC resolution (2020).
Educational explanation • Sources checked 6 October 2026. Staking-certificate dates and evidence gaps are shown below. This guide does not issue a product-specific Shariah ruling.
Three assessments of one offer
Imagine an offer that uses BTC and advertises a return. Assemble three separate pieces of evidence; one cannot fill the gaps in the others.
Three assessments of one offer
What exactly is the token?
Match name, ticker and underlying rights to the relevant determination.
Who offers it, and where?
Match the legal entity to the regulator’s register. Read custody and withdrawal terms.
What are you agreeing to do?
Buying, lending and staking create different questions about returns and obligations.
Sources: SC asset / operator register · ICMPS Guidelines (2026).
What the SC’s SAC decision covers
The SC’s Shariah Advisory Council (SAC) resolution, from its June and July 2020 meetings, permits investment and trading in qualifying digital assets on SC-registered digital asset exchanges (DAX). It expressly excludes assets outside SC jurisdiction. For digital tokens, both issuance proceeds and attached rights must comply; mixed activities and ribawi backing bring further conditions.
Sources: SAC resolution (2020).
The SC FAQ calls digital currency an asset (mal). It treats technology-based digital currency without an underlying asset as goods (‘urudh), rather than currency for Shariah purposes. Currency-, gold- or silver-backed digital currency is subject to currency-exchange rules (bai‘ al-sarf). So a name such as “stablecoin” does not resolve its classification.
Sources: SC Shariah FAQ.
Current offering rule: paragraph 38.07 of the SC’s Guidelines on Islamic Capital Market Products and Services (ICMPS), effective 30 March 2026, requires a DAX operator proposing to offer Shariah-compliant digital currency to seek SAC endorsement before offering it. Appendix 18 asks for rights, underlying assets, consensus and reward/penalty mechanisms, among other information.
Sources: ICMPS Guidelines (2026).
Read the current status precisely
Use the live SC table, not a screenshot forwarded in a chat. BTC and ETH entries cite 20 July 2020. The table also lists Uniswap (UNI) as compliant; that entry does not settle every transaction on the protocol. Where the page gives the March 2026 endorsement note instead of an explicit determination, record “no SC determination confirmed here”. Do not replace missing evidence with either “halal” or “haram”.
Sources: SC asset / operator register.
The same asset, different transactions
A fictional Malaysian reader, Aina, buys BTC. Later, a different promoter asks her to transfer it for a promised return. The second agreement needs evidence of its own. It is not part of the first purchase.
The same asset, different transactions
A · Purchase and hold
Cash goes into the purchase; BTC comes back to the buyer’s account. Holding it does not itself promise an income payment. Check custody, execution and fees.
B · Separate yield promise
What can the recipient do with the BTC? Who owes repayment, in what asset, and who funds the return? The arrows show a promise, not a verified payment. No contract or Shariah determination is supplied in this fictional case.
Sources: SAC resolution (2020) · Luno Malaysia terms.
Buying is not lending, staking or a derivative
Identify the activity in the contract, then take the unresolved questions to a qualified adviser. The questions below do not issue a ruling on a product.
- Buy / hold
- Do you acquire the asset or only a price exposure? Who holds it, and can you withdraw it?
- Lend / earn
- Is there a debt with an extra payment? How is the return funded? Is the recipient allowed to re-lend or sell the asset?
- Stake
- Does the arrangement support network validation? Who takes fees and bears penalties? Does a current assessment cover this exact service?
- Leverage / derivative
- Are you borrowing to enlarge exposure, or contracting on a future price? What financing charge and settlement duty apply, and when can the position be forcibly closed?
- DeFi
- Decentralised finance uses protocols for financial activities. Who controls the code and collateral, and how can a loss or dispute be resolved?
Sources: ICMPS Guidelines (2026).
Luno’s Malaysia staking terms describe committing assets to a third-party validator—a participant that helps validate network transactions—and receiving protocol rewards after fees. Withdrawals may be delayed; slashing is a network penalty that can reduce assets. Its help page reports ETH service certification by Amanie and SOL/ADA service certification by Sharlife. The certificates name particular Luno Malaysia services.
Sources: Luno Malaysia staking terms · Luno certification statement.
Read the dates on the original copies
The linked ETH certificate is dated 1 November 2024 and states one-year validity, subject to annual review. That initial period reached November 2025; the copy does not establish renewal through 6 October 2026. The SOL certificate is dated 9 October 2025, and the ADA certificate 15 October 2025. Their one-year periods include the review date, with anniversaries on 9 October 2026 and 15 October 2026. Both call for annual review and renewal.
Sources: Published ETH certificate · Published SOL certificate · Published ADA certificate.
This is a dated reading of published documents, not confirmation of today’s operating arrangements. The SOL/ADA certificates also require the service to remain consistent with what was assessed and changes to receive adviser review. Request a current certificate and the contract version it covers before relying on certification. Missing renewal evidence here does not establish non-compliance.
Which source answers which question?
Which source answers which question?
Muslim and non-Muslim readers: eligibility is a separate question
A Muslim reader may need a religious assessment of the arrangement. A non-Muslim reader can still compare ownership, costs and risks. In the Luno Malaysia eligibility and identity-verification sections examined, conditions include being at least 18, legal capacity and verification; no Muslim-only condition is specified. This is one provider example, not a promise that every platform accepts every applicant.
Sources: Luno Malaysia terms.
Compliance does not remove costs or price risk
Read the quote, fee schedule and exit terms before paying. As a real pricing reference checked on 6 October 2026, Luno’s Malaysia page states 2% transaction costs for instant buying and selling; Exchange fees use different tiers. Sending fees can be dynamic. The calculation below uses a fictional 1% each way to make the method clear; it does not reproduce Luno’s quote.
Sources: Luno Malaysia fees.
RM1,000: costs first, then price movement
Fictional BTC price: RM500,000 per BTC. Quantity = RM990 ÷ RM500,000 = 0.00198 BTC.
Excluded from this simplified model: spread (the difference between buy and sell quotes), deposit/withdrawal and network fees, taxes, execution changes, rounding rules, withdrawal limits and custody failure. Check these separately. Even the unchanged-price row returns only RM980.10 because of the two fees.
Three common misunderstandings
- “Available to trade” and “confirmed Shariah-compliant” are separate statements. Check the exact status, not just the asset list.
- A wallet balance and control of the private keys are different. Luno’s wallet terms retain customer ownership while Luno controls the keys; read the actual custody contract.
- A return labelled “reward”, “profit” or “annual yield” still needs an explanation of its source and obligations. Do not infer a religious ruling from the label.
Sources: SC asset / operator register · Luno Malaysia terms.
Before you commit money or tokens
- Record the exact asset name, ticker, network and rights; check the current SC entry and its date.
- Match the provider’s legal entity to the register. Record the governing country and applicable terms.
- Draw the flow: who pays, who receives the asset, who controls it and who owes repayment?
- Obtain the arrangement’s assessment, not only a coin’s status. Check issuer, scope, validity, conditions and current contract version.
- List total costs, lock-ups, penalties, withdrawal limits and what happens if the platform or recipient fails.
- If the return mechanism or assessment remains unclear, pause the decision and seek qualified Shariah/legal interpretation. An unanswered question is not an approval.
What the available evidence still cannot confirm
The published certificate copies have been independently read for dates, validity wording and Malaysian service scope. Renewal evidence and a comparison of today’s implementation and contract versions with the assessed documents remain unconfirmed. A new token or a specific lending, leveraged, derivatives, staking or DeFi arrangement needs its own assessment; this guide does not supply that verdict or a legal opinion on insolvency protection.
Sources and date
Primary sources and actual provider terms were rechecked on 6 October 2026 (Malaysia time). This is newly written editorial explanation; the 2020 SAC resolution is credited to the SC SAC. No original ISRA study or scholar review is claimed. Provider statements are identified as such. Live entries and fees must be rechecked before publication.
- Digital AssetsSC-PORTAL · Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) · Date not stated
- Digital Assets from Shariah PerspectiveSAC-2020 · Shariah Advisory Council (SAC), Securities Commission Malaysia · 2020-06-29 / 2020-07-20
- Frequently Asked Questions on Digital Assets from Shariah PerspectiveSC-FAQ · Securities Commission Malaysia · Date not stated
- Guidelines on Islamic Capital Market Products and Services, SC-GL/1-2022 (R2-2026)SC-ICM-2026 · Securities Commission Malaysia · 2026-03-30
- Malaysia Terms of useLUNO-TERMS · Luno Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. · 2026-05-14
- Luno fees and limits in MalaysiaLUNO-FEES · Luno · Date not stated
- Malaysia Staking Terms and ConditionsLUNO-STAKING · Luno · 2025-09-11
- Is Luno staking Shariah compliant?LUNO-CERT · Luno (reporting Amanie Advisors and Sharlife assessments) · Date not stated
- Luno Malaysia Ethereum staking — certificate of Shariah endorsementCERT-ETH-2024 · Amanie Advisors (copy published by Luno) · 2024-11-01
- Luno Malaysia Solana staking — Shariah certificateCERT-SOL-2025 · Sharlife (copy published by Luno) · 2025-10-09
- Luno Malaysia Cardano staking — Shariah certificateCERT-ADA-2025 · Sharlife (copy published by Luno) · 2025-10-15