Zakat guide

Zakat on Crypto: A Canadian Guide

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies count as zakatable wealth according to the scholars and bodies that permit crypto investment — 2.5% on holdings above nisab after one lunar year. This guide explains who says what, how to value volatile holdings, how mining and staking rewards fit in, and what the CRA expects on the tax side.

By the Canadian Halal Investor Editorial Team · Updated October 1, 2026

The short answer: if you treat your crypto as an investment and it sits above nisab for a full lunar year, the scholars and bodies that permit crypto say 2.5% zakat is due on its market value — the same rule as cash and tradable goods. Scholars who consider crypto itself impermissible would not frame it as zakatable wealth at all, so the starting point is your scholar’s position on crypto. See our guide on whether crypto is halal.

Is crypto zakatable?

The answer depends on which scholars you follow, because they disagree on crypto itself. Among those who permit it, the zakat treatment is consistent: crypto held as an investment is tradable wealth, like cash or merchandise, and 2.5% is due once it reaches nisab and a lunar year passes.

Fiqh Council of North America (2019). In a fatwa prepared by Dr. Yasir Qadhi and Dr. Abdulbari Mashal and adopted on September 2, 2019, the Council held that trading Bitcoin for investment is permissible, that zakat is due on Bitcoin investments once an Islamic year has passed and the amount is above nisab, and that mining Bitcoin and being paid in Bitcoin for one’s efforts is permissible. The fatwa also requires spot settlement on exchanges and strongly cautions Muslims about crypto’s volatility and uncertainty. Note the fatwa is specific to Bitcoin.

Perlis State Mufti Department, Malaysia (2018). The Perlis religious authorities classified Bitcoin as a digital asset rather than a Shariah currency, and held that 2.5% property zakat applies where holdings exceed the value of 85 grams of gold after one year of ownership — while warning users to understand the risks to avoid gharar (excessive uncertainty).

The other side. The Syrian Islamic Council issued a fatwa in November 2019, signed by 21 scholars, declaring cryptocurrency trading impermissible outright. This is a genuine scholarly disagreement, not a settled question.

The common formula. A December 2025 article in the JURISTA journal summarizes the dominant scholarly approach: crypto is treated as zakatable property like cash or tradable assets when it reaches nisab (85 grams of gold) and is held for one lunar year, with 2.5% due on the total value. The same article notes a minority position, attributed via Indonesia’s Ulema Council (MUI), that zakat applies only to the trading profit rather than the whole holding.

Bottom line: if your scholars permit crypto investment, budget 2.5% annually like any other tradable wealth. If they do not, the question is moot — and personal rulings belong with a qualified scholar (see our Ask a Scholar page).

How to calculate zakat on crypto

The mechanics mirror zakat on stocks — see our zakat on stocks guide for the shared framework — with crypto-specific wrinkles:

Total everything. Add up holdings across every wallet and exchange. Staked or lent crypto still in your possession counts toward the base; permanently lost or inaccessible coins are generally excluded.
Value at market price on your zakat anniversary — not what you paid. Crypto guidance consistently uses the market value on the zakat due date, then adds your other zakatable assets (cash, stocks) and deducts short-term debts.
Check nisab. The commonly cited threshold is the value of 85 grams of gold. Below it, no zakat is due on the crypto.
Check the holding period. One full lunar year of ownership above nisab.
Pay 2.5% of the qualifying amount, from any halal funds — you do not have to sell the crypto itself.

Volatility. There is no dedicated scholarly ruling on volatility-adjusted zakat timing that we could locate. The standing guidance is valuation at market value on the anniversary date — a bad week for prices lowers the bill, a good week raises it. The Fiqh Council of North America’s caution about crypto volatility and due diligence applies here: only hold what you understand.

Our zakat calculator handles the arithmetic once you have the valuations; for dividend-paying holdings, the purification calculator covers the separate purification obligation.

Mining and staking rewards

Rewards complicate the picture because they arrive as income, not as a one-time purchase.

Mining. The Fiqh Council of North America’s 2019 fatwa explicitly permits mining Bitcoin and being paid in Bitcoin for one’s efforts. Mined coins enter your wealth like any earned income: once received, they sit in your zakatable base and the lunar-year clock applies to them.

Staking and lending rewards. Published crypto-zakat guidance (for example, CCN’s Ramadan 2026 guide and the Embrace Relief Foundation) treats staked or lent crypto as part of the zakatable base and treats gains or income derived from holding or trading crypto as subject to zakat like other wealth. In practice: include staked balances at market value, and count rewards received as additions to your wealth.

An honest gap. We could not locate a named-scholar fatwa specifically on the zakat treatment of staking rewards. The general principles above are the best available guidance; for large staking positions, ask a scholar rather than improvising.

Canadian tax notes (CRA)

Zakat and tax are separate obligations. On the tax side, the CRA treats cryptocurrency as a commodity/property, not currency:

Dispositions are taxable. Selling crypto, trading one crypto for another, or spending it counts as a disposition. Moving coins between your own wallets generally does not.
Capital gains vs. business income. Depending on your pattern of activity — frequency, volume, holding periods, knowledge, and time devoted — gains are treated as capital gains or as fully taxable business income. A 2025 Tax Court decision reinforced business-income treatment for business-like trading patterns.
Staking and mining income is treated as income (business income where applicable) at fair market value when received.

Capital-gains inclusion rules have been in flux; confirm the current inclusion rate on canada.ca before filing rather than relying on older guides. Keep exchange statements and wallet records — the same records feed both your tax return and your zakat calculation.

A practical annual routine

Put it on autopilot:

Fix a zakat anniversary — many people use Ramadan. Mark it on your calendar.
List every holding across wallets and exchanges, including staked balances.
Value everything at that day’s market price.
Add other zakatable assets (cash, stocks), subtract debts due within the year.
If the total is above nisab and you have held above nisab for a lunar year, pay 2.5%.
File the records with your tax documents — future you will be grateful.

Crypto is the hardest asset class to value consistently, which is exactly why a fixed routine beats good intentions. For the stocks side of the same calculation, see zakat on stocks.

FAQ

Is cryptocurrency zakatable?

The Fiqh Council of North America’s 2019 fatwa holds that zakat is due on Bitcoin investments once an Islamic year has passed and holdings are above nisab; Malaysia’s Perlis Mufti Department likewise applies 2.5% property zakat above the 85-gram-of-gold threshold. This follows the scholars who permit crypto investment — the Syrian Islamic Council (2019) took the opposite view that crypto trading is impermissible, so the starting point is your scholar’s position on crypto itself.

How do I value crypto for zakat?

At market value on your zakat anniversary date — not what you paid for it. Total your holdings across all wallets and exchanges, add other zakatable assets, deduct short-term debts, and apply 2.5% to the amount above nisab if held for a lunar year. Staked or lent crypto still in your possession counts; permanently lost or inaccessible coins are generally excluded.

Do I pay zakat on staked crypto or mining rewards?

Staked or lent crypto is included in the zakatable base at market value, and mining is permitted with mined coins entering your wealth like earned income, per the Fiqh Council of North America. Rewards and gains from holding or trading count as zakatable wealth. We could not locate a named-scholar fatwa specifically on staking rewards, so large positions deserve a scholar’s input.

What if my crypto lost value before my zakat date?

Zakat is calculated on the market value at your zakat anniversary, so a downturn lowers what you owe — and if the total falls below nisab, no zakat is due on it that year. There is no scholarly ruling we could find for volatility-adjusted timing beyond valuing on the due date.

Does the CRA tax cryptocurrency?

Yes. The CRA treats crypto as property (a commodity), not currency: selling, trading crypto-to-crypto, or spending it is a taxable disposition, while moving coins between your own wallets generally is not. Gains may be capital gains or business income depending on your activity pattern, and staking or mining rewards are income at fair market value when received. Confirm current inclusion rates on canada.ca.