Kaia
KAIA#135Kaia is an Ethereum-compatible Layer 1 blockchain formed from Klaytn and Finschia, aimed at users of LINE and Kakao apps in Asia.
- Market cap
- $234.18M
- Volume 24h
- $8.25M
- All-time high
- —
- Circulating supply
- 6.43B
Passes our 8 Shariah criteria. Needs caution: business model and excessive uncertainty (gharar).
- 6 pass
- 2 caution
- 0 fail
Verdict history
- HalalCurrent
First publication
Fundamentals, market picture and news will appear here.
Halal analysis
Can a Muslim hold Kaia?8 Shariah criteria
6 pass · 2 caution · 0 failStaking rewards come from issuance and fees, not lending, but holding KAIA can boost yield on USDT deposits in the Unifi app.
Riba is interest or any guaranteed increase on a loan. Kaia's staking rewards are newly minted KAIA and transaction fees, shared in proportion to stake among council validators who run the network; CryptoUmmah calls them variable rather than guaranteed and scores riba 85/100. The score is lowered within pass because Kaia says KAIA holders qualify for up to 3% extra yield on USDT deposits in its Unifi wallet, a deposit return whose source is not disclosed. Lending KAIA through third parties is covered under trading mechanisms.
KAIA is the fee and staking coin of a working blockchain with real payment use.
This criterion asks whether the asset has real value as property (mal). KAIA pays for transactions and secures the Kaia network through staking, and the network carries stablecoin payments and apps. CryptoUmmah, the first authoritative source that rates Kaia, rates it halal. The general scholarly dispute about crypto is not a coin-specific problem, so the criterion is at the maximum.
KAIA has no chance-based payout; it is the utility coin of a payments-focused blockchain.
Maysir is gambling: gaining or losing by chance rather than through productive exchange. KAIA has no lottery-like feature, and its main role is paying fees and staking. Its price has fallen sharply since December 2024, but ordinary price risk is not maysir. No concrete gambling mechanism was found, so the criterion is at the maximum.
The network earns fees, but the foundation's subsidiary runs a private-credit fund earning interest and the foundation promotes lending markets.
This criterion asks how the issuer or protocol earns and whether any of that income is impermissible. Kaia itself earns transaction fees and issues new KAIA. However, Kaia Investment Partners, a subsidiary owned by the Kaia DLT Foundation, launched Yield8, a tokenised private-credit fund whose returns come from interest on loans (targeting 8%+ APR), and the foundation ran a lending and borrowing incentive campaign with Morpho and Feather in July 2026. Interest income in the foundation group is therefore proven, but its share is unknown, so the criterion is at caution.
CryptoUmmah, which rates Kaia halal, also asks for 1.8% purification.
Rules are published, but issuance can be changed by governance, validation is concentrated in a council, and no dated base-protocol audit is public.
Gharar is excessive uncertainty or hidden information. Kaia publishes its issuance (9.6 KAIA per block) and reward split, and its code is open source. But the inflation rate can be changed by governance, a Governance Council of corporate validators with a 5 million KAIA minimum stake controls block production and votes, and CryptoUmmah found no dated public audit of the base protocol, scoring gharar 62.3/100. These are concrete uncertainties, so the criterion is at caution.
KAIA is used for fees and staking on a stablecoin and payments network, and also as collateral in lending apps.
This criterion looks at what the asset is actually used for. KAIA pays transaction fees for stablecoin payments, remittances and apps used through LINE and Kakao, and it is staked to run the network. The foundation also promotes its use as collateral to borrow USDT in lending apps, an interest-based use, which lowers the score within pass.
Fully paid spot KAIA is widely available and can be held in a self-custody wallet.
This criterion asks whether the asset can be owned in a permissible way. KAIA trades spot with full payment and delivery on exchanges, especially in Korea, and can be held in a self-custody wallet on the Kaia network. Ownership does not depend on derivatives or leverage, so the criterion is at the maximum.
Kaia supports cheap stablecoin payments and remittances; no concrete fraud or hack involving KAIA is documented.
Maslahah weighs benefit against harm. Kaia hosts stablecoins such as USDT and JPYC and Korean bank pilots for payments and remittances, which are useful services. No source collected documents fraud or a hack involving KAIA. Interest-based activities in the ecosystem are counted under business model and usage, so the criterion is at the maximum.
How you can use it
Tap a card for the ruling and sourcesBuying KAIA with full payment and immediate delivery is widely available, and the coins can be moved to a self-custody wallet. Spot is acceptable for a HALAL asset.
No KAIA exchange-traded fund was found. A product that holds KAIA itself would be judged like spot; its structure would need to be checked.
KAIA is used to pay network fees, while payments in Kaia apps are mostly made in stablecoins. Tier-1 bodies such as Indonesia's MUI rule that using cryptocurrency as currency is not permissible.
Staking KAIA with Governance Council validators earns a share of block issuance and fees for running the network; rewards are variable and not a loan. Check that a custodial or liquid staking product does not lend the coins.
Margin trading in KAIA is offered by some exchanges but is never acceptable: it is a deferred exchange with borrowed money and leverage (AAOIFI SS 20).
KAIA futures and perpetuals are offered by derivatives exchanges, but futures, perpetuals and options always fail under AAOIFI SS 20: deferred exchange without delivery, usually with leverage.
Lending KAIA through exchange or DeFi lending programmes pays depositors interest from borrowers. This is riba.
Kaia apps offer yield on deposits, including a KAIA-linked boost on USDT deposits in Unifi and lending markets. Returns from lending are riba; each product 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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