Halal but Hard to Find: Shariah-Compliant Crypto Is in Demand Amid Explosive Islamic Finance Growth

As demand for faith-driven finance reaches new highs, the market for Shariah-compliant crypto products is showing signs of both promise and pressure against the backdrop of challenging economic and market conditions.

According to a report by INPUT, several leading companies in the sector are looking to provide ethical and interest-free investment platforms for the two billion Muslim population of the world.

The report found that the $8 billion Islamic finance market is expected to reach $12.45 billion by 2028 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.7%. Shariah-compliant crypto-related companies like HAQQ Network, MRHB, Caiz, Sidra Chain, and Goldsand (formerly Inshallah Finance) are the top players trying to close the gap — each one building ecosystems designed to align with Islamic finance principles by eliminating riba (interest), avoiding gharar (uncertainty), and steering clear of haram-linked industries.

Each of these companies offers a unique set of products to make the entrance into the decentralized finance world easier for the two billion Muslim population. Caiz is the only project on the list that hasn’t launched yet.

HAQQ Network is the largest Shariah-compliant crypto project with $400 million in funding so far. The platform has already brought 6.12 million users onchain with its seven major products — Atlas prepaid card, Deenar Gold, Firoza Finance, HAQQex, HAQQ Wallet, BarakFi, and MM Chat.

Its Ethereum-compatible blockchain powers Islamic Coin (ISLM), which avoids interest-based mechanisms and donates 10% of all new tokens to charity through the Evergreen DAO. HAQQ has processed over 34.5 million transactions so far and offers a fully transparent onchain data dashboard.

Goldsand, formerly known as Inshallah Finance, enables halal Ethereum and Solana staking without riba. The project has already accumulated $4.5 million in staked digital assets.

MRHB Network entered the Shariah-compliant DeFi sector with its four products — M.I.R.O, MPower, TijarX, and EmplifAI. While the latest data isn’t available for MRHB, the report found that the platform had 95,000 users as of September 2023.

The last project on the list, Sidra Chain, offers Shariah-compliant crypto-related services to its 737,000 Muslim users worldwide. According to the report, Sidra Chain has processed 12.9 million transactions so far.

Notably, it’s not just the Middle East anymore — Southeast Asia and parts of Europe are also becoming key players in the Shariah-compliant crypto sector.

The main target for such faith-related products is Gen Z Muslims. According to a report by Fintech Magazine, Islamic banking products have already captured the attention of 85% of the tech-savvy Gen Z Muslims. This makes it the perfect time for Shariah-compliant crypto companies to enter the Islamic ecosystem.

The Islamic finance market is expected to reach $4 trillion in the coming years, showing great potential for ethical DeFi-related companies to enter the sector. If the industry can navigate theological complexities and regulatory ambiguity, Shariah-compliant crypto will likely play a crucial role in the digital economy of the next decade.

The next step is scaling up through better regulation, standardized Shariah governance, and deeper integrations with global crypto ecosystems.

About INPUT Global

INPUT provides organic PR, influencer partnerships, and strategic event presence for tech and Web3 companies, delivering broader communications on a global scale.

With an unrivaled reach across six regions (North America, Europe, MENA, APAC, LatAm, and Oceania), it connects clients with 380 authoritative journalists, 3,740 diverse influencers, and 220+ worldwide events.

Since its founding in early 2021, the agency has built a portfolio of 70+ industry leaders, including Tron, Bitget, 1inch, Outlier Ventures, Brickken, Hacken, Paybis, Sweat, and Floki.

INPUT’s work has been recognized with the 2024 FiNext Awards for ‘Excellence in Finance – Marketing Development’ and ‘Excellence in Finance – Media

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