ether.fi
ETHFI#81ETHFI is the governance token of ether.fi, an Ethereum staking protocol that has grown into a crypto neobank with yield vaults and lending.
- Market cap
- $681.85M
- Volume 24h
- $76.13M
- All-time high
- —
- Circulating supply
- 965.35M of 1B
Passes our 8 Shariah criteria. Needs caution: interest (riba), business model, usage, and benefit and harm (maslahah).
- 4 pass
- 4 caution
- 0 fail
Verdict history
- HalalCurrent
First publication
Fundamentals, market picture and news will appear here.
Halal analysis
Can a Muslim hold ether.fi?8 Shariah criteria
4 pass · 4 caution · 0 failHolding ETHFI pays nothing, but sETHFI stakers receive ETHFI bought with protocol revenue that includes a small share of borrower interest.
Riba means interest or any guaranteed increase on a loan. ETHFI itself is a plain ERC-20 token and holding it earns nothing. Stakers of ETHFI (sETHFI) receive ETHFI bought on the market with protocol revenue: 5% of monthly revenue under proposal #8, all eETH withdrawal fees under the buyback programme, and a share of Stake, Liquid and Cash revenue. Most of that revenue is a fee of about 10% on Ethereum staking rewards and card transaction fees, which are payment for services.
But ether.fi also runs a lending market where borrowers pay variable interest (the USDC rate starts from a 3% base and rises with utilisation), and DefiLlama counts the protocol's share of that interest as revenue; it was about 1.5% of revenue over the past year by that secondary estimate. A December 2024 proposal also suggested putting treasury ETHFI into tokenised treasury notes, and its outcome was not verified. No fixed or guaranteed return is promised to ETHFI holders, so this is not 'fail', but the reward stream mixes a small interest component with service income. Sharlife, the authoritative source for ETHFI, rates it grey (doubtful) without publishing its reasons; this revenue-linked reward stream is the most likely basis, and the criterion stays at caution.
ETHFI governs a large, working protocol and has several product uses, so it is property with real utility.
Mal is property that Islamic law recognises as having value and that can be owned and traded. ether.fi is a real, working business: a staking protocol with billions of dollars deposited, lending, vaults and a Visa card. ETHFI's own utility is narrower: it is used to vote on proposals, can be staked to receive bought-back ETHFI, unlocks card tiers and is paid out as card cashback. It gives no legal claim on the protocol's assets or revenue.
Malaysia's Securities Commission Shariah Advisory Council (2020) treats digital tokens without an underlying asset as tradable goods on registered platforms, while Egypt's Dar al-Ifta (2017), the UAE General Authority of Islamic Affairs (2018), Turkey's Diyanet (2017) and Indonesia's MUI (2021) prohibit dealing in cryptocurrencies, and the OIC Fiqh Academy (2019) deferred a ruling. None of them names ETHFI. The general dispute among these bodies is reflected in confidence, not in this score. ETHFI has several real uses in a working protocol (governance, staking, card tiers and cashback), so no ETHFI-specific reason to doubt its status as property was found, and the criterion gets the full score.
ETHFI is not a gambling token, though its trading is dominated by futures and its price has fallen about 91% from its peak.
Maysir is gambling: winning or losing by chance rather than through productive exchange. Ordinary price swings are not maysir, and ETHFI has no chance-based payout. Its market is heavily speculative, though. In a 24-hour snapshot on 27 September 2026, Binance ETHFIUSDT perpetual futures traded about $31.1 million against about $5.8 million on the spot pair, so futures were about 84% of that volume (one exchange, one day). The token peaked at $8.53 in March 2024 and traded near $0.73 in September 2026, after a low of $0.27 in June 2026.
A real function exists alongside the speculation, as governance and product-linked token of a working protocol, and the token has no gambling mechanics of its own, so futures dominance lowers the score only within pass.
Most revenue is staking and card fees, but ether.fi also earns from borrower interest and yield vaults, and the only revenue split available is a secondary estimate.
This criterion asks how the protocol earns, and whether any of that income is impermissible. By DefiLlama's estimate for the year to 27 September 2026 (about $45.9 million), roughly 70% came from ether.fi Stake (mainly a fee of about 10% on Ethereum staking rewards, plus shares of restaking and validator rewards and eETH withdrawal fees), about 25% from Cash card transaction fees, about 3% from Liquid vault management fees and about 1.5% from the protocol's share of borrower interest in its own lending market.
On those numbers, clearly impermissible income (interest) is below the 5% threshold, and management fees on vaults that may use lending strategies are a disputed share well below 20%. Buying ETHFI back with revenue is not itself a problem; the question is where that revenue comes from, and here it is mostly service fees. Two things keep the status at caution: the split is a secondary estimate that ether.fi does not publish itself, and the product line is built partly around borrowing (credit-mode card spending, a lending market) and yield vaults whose strategies were not itemised, while the treasury's holdings, including any tokenised treasury notes, were not verified. Sharlife rates ETHFI grey, which is consistent with this mixed revenue picture.
Supply is fixed and fully minted, the token contract is verified and not upgradeable, and admin controls are published with timelocks.
Gharar is excessive uncertainty or hidden information in a deal. The governance docs state ETHFI is fully minted at 1 billion with no further issuance, and the allocation is published (investors 33.74%, treasury 21.62%, core contributors 21.47%, airdrops 19.27%, partnerships and liquidity 3.9%). The token contract on Etherscan is verified and not a proxy, and showed 998.5 million ETHFI on 27 September 2026. About 965 million ETHFI already circulate by CoinGecko's count, so pending unlocks are small, though core contributor vesting (3 years from March 2024) may run to about March 2027.
The protocol contracts are upgradeable, but only by a 6-of-10 multisig with a 10-day public timelock, and the docs state no key can move user funds. Audits by Certora and others are published. Buyback amounts and treasury holdings are not reported in one place, which is a data gap; the upgradeable protocol contracts, though timelocked, keep the score just below the maximum.
ETHFI is used for governance, card tiers and cashback, but the ecosystem it serves includes interest-based borrowing and yield vaults.
This criterion looks at what the asset is actually used for. ETHFI itself is used to vote, to stake as sETHFI, to unlock ether.fi Cash card tiers and, since September 2026 according to a market report, as the currency of card cashback. It can also be posted as collateral in ether.fi's lending market at a 20% loan-to-value. The protocol it governs is mostly used for Ethereum staking and card payments, which are permissible uses.
A notable part is disputed or impermissible: the lending market charges borrowers interest, Cash's Credit mode borrows against the user's collateral through decentralised borrowing protocols (the card itself charges no interest, but DefiLlama records borrow interest generated from Cash services), and Liquid vaults run DeFi strategies that were not itemised. None of these is shown to be the main purpose, so the status is caution rather than fail.
Fully paid spot ETHFI is available on major exchanges and can be held in one's own wallet.
This criterion asks whether the asset can be owned in a permissible way. ETHFI trades spot, with full payment and delivery, on major exchanges such as Binance, and it is an ordinary ERC-20 token that can be withdrawn to a self-custody wallet. Since 22 September 2026 a physically backed 21Shares ETP also trades in Amsterdam and Paris. Ownership therefore does not depend on derivatives or leveraged wrappers; fund structures are assessed separately under trading mechanisms. The criterion gets the full score.
ether.fi offers useful non-custodial staking and payments, but it also promotes borrowing against volatile collateral, with liquidation risk for users.
Maslahah weighs public benefit against harm. The benefit is real: ether.fi lets people stake ETH without running a validator while keeping a liquid token, publishes its admin controls and audits, and lets users spend their holdings through a Visa card. The harm is also significant. The product encourages borrowing against volatile crypto collateral, including through the card's Credit mode; the docs warn that collateral can be liquidated, and a Chaos Labs analysis notes the treasury backstops liquidations when outside liquidators do not act. Vaults can lose value or delay withdrawals.
Speculative trading losses in ETHFI itself are counted under maysir, not again here.
How you can use it
Tap a card for the ruling and sourcesBuying ETHFI with full payment and immediate delivery is available on major exchanges, and tokens can be moved to a self-custody wallet. Spot is acceptable for a HALAL-rated asset, though Sharlife rates ETHFI grey, so cautious buyers may prefer to wait.
There is no US ETF. The 21Shares ether.fi ETP, listed on Euronext Amsterdam and Paris since 22 September 2026, is physically backed by ETHFI and charges 2.50% a year. Whether the issuer lends or stakes the underlying tokens was not verified, so its structure could not be fully checked.
ETHFI is not commonly used to pay for goods; the ether.fi card spends a user's balance or borrows against it. Tier-1 bodies such as Indonesia's MUI rule that using cryptocurrency as currency is not permissible.
ETHFI is not a proof-of-stake coin and has no validation work. Staking it as sETHFI earns ETHFI bought back with protocol revenue (plus loyalty points); that revenue is mostly staking and card fees but includes a small share of borrower interest, so the structure resembles a revenue share with a mixed source rather than payment for network work.
Margin trading in ETHFI is offered on exchanges but is never acceptable: it is a deferred exchange with borrowed money and leverage (AAOIFI SS 20).
ETHFI perpetual futures are the largest part of its trading volume, but futures, perpetuals and options always fail under AAOIFI SS 20: deferred exchange without delivery, usually with leverage.
Lending ETHFI through exchange earn programmes or lending protocols pays interest from borrowers. This is riba. Borrowing against ETHFI in ether.fi's lending market also involves paying interest.
The main ETHFI yield product is sETHFI, whose rewards come from mixed protocol revenue (see staking), so the source is not purely permissible. ETHFI yield products built on lending would fail; each product's source must be checked.
Scholars quotes
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.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.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.The SAC has also resolved that investment and trading of Digital Assets that fulfil the above requirements and which are traded on Digital Asset Exchange (DAX) registered with SC are permissible.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.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.Our current position is 'tawaquf'; we can't say it is halal or haram, but we say it is better not to engage in itAI-assisted analysis checked against sources. Not a fatwa or investment advice.
Where it trades
Section in preparation
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