AAOIFI Shari'a screening · Reviewed August 17, 2026
Is Coinbase (COIN) stock halal in 2026?
No. Coinbase screens as Not Halal (0/100, grade F) as of August 2026: its FY2025 10-K shows 28.2% of revenue from USDC reserve interest and staking services, far past AAOIFI's 5% ceiling. The filing math, why our own verdict changed, and what holders should do.
No. Coinbase Global (COIN) screens as Not Halal on HalalScreener as of August 2026, scoring 0 out of 100 (grade F). Its FY2025 Form 10-K shows 28.2% of revenue from prohibited streams: interest earned on USDC stablecoin reserves (18.8%) and staking services (9.4%), alongside institutional margin lending and leveraged derivatives venues. That fails the AAOIFI business activity screen outright. The debt ratio (18.1% of market cap) passes, but a passing ratio cannot save a failed activity screen.
AAOIFI ratio breakdown
| Ratio | Value | Threshold | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interest-bearing debt / Market cap | 18.1% | <30% | Pass |
| Non-permissible revenue / Total revenue (FY2025 10-K) | 28.2% | <5% | Fail |
Where the numbers come from. Coinbase's revenue is no longer mostly trade commissions. Per its FY2025 Form 10-K, 18.8% of revenue was interest earned on the reserves backing the USDC stablecoin (Coinbase shares the interest Circle earns on those reserves), and 9.4% came from staking services. Reserve interest is riba by definition, and staking-as-a-service fee income is counted conservatively as non-compliant given the unresolved scholarly debate on staking. Add institutional margin lending and leveraged derivatives venues, and the prohibited share of revenue sits several multiples past the 5% ceiling AAOIFI Standard 21 tolerates for incidental income.
An honest note about our own verdict. Until August 2026, HalalScreener showed COIN as passing, because our business activity screen keyed off industry classifications that had no category for crypto exchanges. That was our gap, and we closed it: crypto-exchange revenue is now screened line by line from SEC filings, and the COIN verdict flipped to Not Halal, in line with the numbers above. The screening date on the live COIN page always tells you when it was last run.
The nuance that matters. This verdict is not a ruling that crypto itself is haram. On the conditional-permissibility approach, charging a fee to exchange screened digital assets is legitimate service income; if that were all Coinbase did, it could pass, and a pure spot brokerage can pass our screen. The failure is the interest-bearing business around the brokerage. Scholars who prohibit cryptocurrency altogether, per the June 2026 fatwa of Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani and co-signatories or Egypt's Dar al-Ifta, would avoid the stock for broader reasons, and the office of Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Sistani withholds a ruling on virtual currencies. On every one of those positions the outcome for COIN today is the same.
If you already hold COIN. Purification does not repair a failed screen; purification is for companies that pass with a small tainted stream. The prevailing guidance across both the Sunni schools and the Ja'fari school is to exit and give away gains attributable to the prohibited activity, with the timing and calculation presented to your scholar or marja. Check the live screen first, since ratios and revenue mix move with every filing; HalalScreener screens COIN free.
Methodology
Verdict applies the methodology of AAOIFI Shari'a Standard No. 21: Financial Papers (Shares and Bonds): qualitative screening for prohibited business activities, plus three quantitative caps. Interest-bearing debt < 30% of market cap, interest-bearing securities < 30%, and non-permissible income < 5% of revenue.
Sources and scholars
- AAOIFI Shari'a Standard No. 21: Financial Papers (Shares and Bonds)
- Coinbase Global FY2025 Form 10-K (SEC EDGAR), revenue disclosures
- Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani and co-signatories, cryptocurrency fatwa (June 2026)
- Office of Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Sistani (exit timing and calculation: consult your marja)
Frequently asked
Is Coinbase (COIN) stock halal in 2026?
No. As of the August 2026 screen COIN scores 0 out of 100 (grade F) under AAOIFI Standard 21. Its FY2025 10-K shows 28.2% of revenue from prohibited streams: USDC reserve interest (18.8%) and staking services (9.4%), plus margin lending and leveraged derivatives venues, against a 5% tolerance.
Why did HalalScreener's COIN verdict change in 2026?
Our activity screen previously keyed off industry classifications that had no category for crypto exchanges, so COIN passed on ratios alone. In August 2026 we moved crypto-exchange screening to line-by-line revenue analysis from SEC filings, and the verdict flipped to Not Halal. We publish the change rather than hide it.
Isn't Coinbase just a brokerage earning trading fees?
Trading fees on screened spot assets are defensible service income, and a pure spot brokerage can pass. Coinbase's problem is everything around the brokerage: interest on USDC reserves, staking services, margin lending and derivatives venues, which together are 28.2% of FY2025 revenue.
What should I do if I already own COIN?
A failed screen is not fixed by purification, which applies to passing companies with small tainted streams. The prevailing guidance in both the Sunni and Ja'fari schools is to exit and give away gains attributable to the prohibited activity, with timing and calculation presented to your scholar or marja. Re-check the live verdict first.
See the live verdict for COIN
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