Maple Finance
SYRUP#118SYRUP is the governance token of Maple, an onchain lender that funds loans to institutions and pays lenders the interest borrowers repay.
- Market cap
- $291.93M
- Volume 24h
- $16.16M
- All-time high
- —
- Circulating supply
- 1.19B
Fails our Shariah screening. Needs caution: nature of the asset and benefit and harm (maslahah). Fails: interest (riba), business model, and usage.
- 3 pass
- 2 caution
- 3 fail
Verdict history
- Not halalCurrent
First publication
Fundamentals, market picture and news will appear here.
Halal analysis
Can a Muslim hold Maple Finance?8 Shariah criteria
3 pass · 2 caution · 3 failSYRUP's value support comes from interest: 25% of protocol revenue, which is a share of borrowers' interest, funds SYRUP buybacks.
Riba is interest or any guaranteed increase on a loan. Maple's documented fees are origination, service and management fees taken from or added to the interest borrowers pay, plus a performance fee on strategy yield. Under MIP-019, 25% of that revenue goes to the Syrup Strategic Fund for SYRUP buybacks; earlier staking rewards were funded partly the same way. Sharlife, the first authoritative source that rates SYRUP, lists it as Grey without public reasons; this criterion departs from it because the link between SYRUP and loan interest is documented by Maple itself.
CryptoUmmah scores riba 20.5/100 for the same reason.
SYRUP has a working governance function, but that function exists to run an interest-based lending business.
This criterion asks whether the asset has real value as property (mal). SYRUP is a governance token with real votes on Maple's products and treasury, so it is not an empty record. But what it governs and draws value from is an interest-based lending platform. Sharlife's Grey rating is conditional; this coin-specific link to interest keeps the criterion at caution.
SYRUP has no chance-based payout or meme mechanics; Maple funds real loans to real borrowers.
Maysir is gambling: gaining or losing by chance rather than through productive exchange. Maple matches lenders with institutional borrowers, and SYRUP is a governance token with no lottery, game or meme mechanics. Ordinary price volatility is not gambling, so the criterion is at the maximum. The interest problem is counted under riba and business model.
Maple earns mainly from interest: its fees are a share of what institutional borrowers pay on loans, far above the 5% limit for impermissible income.
This criterion asks how the issuer earns and whether that income is permissible. Maple's documentation shows that its revenue comes from loan fees and management fees taken from borrowers' interest, and from performance fees on strategy yield. Maple reported year-to-date revenue of $13.7M to August 2026 and a net interest margin of 98 basis points. Interest-based lending is the core business, not a side activity, so the criterion fails. CryptoUmmah reaches the same conclusion.
Leadership is named, contracts are audited and supply is documented, though admins can change strategy fees and lenders lost money in a 2022 default.
Gharar is excessive uncertainty or hidden information. Maple's leadership is publicly named, its contracts were audited by Trail of Bits, Spearbit, Three Sigma, Cantina and 0xMacro, and the MPL-to-SYRUP conversion and emission schedule are documented. Some uncertainty remains: protocol admins can change strategy fee rates at any time, early holdings were concentrated, and lenders in one pool lost about 80% in the 2022 credit crisis. These lower the score within pass.
SYRUP's main use is to govern, and capture revenue from, an interest-based lending market.
This criterion looks at what the asset is actually used for. SYRUP is used to vote on Maple proposals, and its value is supported by buybacks funded from lending revenue. It is not used for payments or computing. Because its purpose is tied to running an interest-based credit business, the criterion fails.
Fully paid spot SYRUP is widely available and can be held in any Ethereum wallet.
This criterion asks whether the asset can be owned in a permissible way. SYRUP trades spot with full payment and delivery on exchanges and Ethereum DEXs, and it is an ordinary ERC-20 token that can be held in self-custody. Ownership does not depend on derivatives or leverage, so the criterion is at the maximum.
Maple makes credit markets more transparent, but it spreads interest-based lending, and lenders in one pool lost most of their money in 2022.
Maslahah weighs benefit against harm. Maple puts institutional loans onchain where positions can be checked, and it serves real borrowers. But the product it spreads is interest-based credit, which Islamic finance treats as harmful, and lenders in one pool lost about 80% in the 2022 default of Orthogonal Trading. The criterion is at caution.
How you can use it
Tap a card for the ruling and sourcesBuying SYRUP with full payment and delivery is widely available, but full payment does not change the token itself: SYRUP is rated HARAM because its value is tied to interest from lending.
No SYRUP exchange-traded fund was found as of 1 October 2026. A fund holding SYRUP would carry the same interest problem as the token.
SYRUP is not used as a means of payment. Tier-1 bodies such as Indonesia's MUI rule that using cryptocurrency as currency is not permissible.
SYRUP staking rewards were ended by MIP-019; the staking contract now only supports unstaking. Past rewards were funded partly by buybacks from interest-based revenue.
Margin trading in SYRUP is offered by some exchanges but is never acceptable: it is a deferred exchange with borrowed money and leverage (AAOIFI SS 20).
SYRUP perpetual futures are offered on several exchanges, but futures, perpetuals and options always fail under AAOIFI SS 20: deferred exchange without delivery, usually with leverage.
Lending SYRUP through exchange or DeFi lending programmes pays depositors interest from borrowers. This is riba.
Maple's own yield products (syrupUSDC, syrupUSDT) pay lenders the interest borrowers repay. Yield on SYRUP elsewhere comes from lending or similar sources. Both are riba.
Scholars quotes
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.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.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.Muhammadiyah memandang transaksi dan investasi kripto pada dasarnya mubah (boleh) tetapi dengan syarat tertentu.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.Our current position is 'tawaquf'; we can't say it is halal or haram, but we say it is better not to engage in itAs 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.AI-assisted analysis checked against sources. Not a fatwa or investment advice.
Where it trades
Section in preparation
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