Islamic Finance Principles Assessment
Riba - Does Coin98 Include Any Interest-Based Elements?
Coin98's core protocol design does not incorporate interest-bearing lending or borrowing mechanisms at the base layer, meaning the platform itself is not structurally dependent on riba. The revenue model is oriented around transaction fees and protocol usage rather than the lending of capital at a fixed predetermined return. For Muslim investors, this foundational architecture is an encouraging starting point, though the staking reward mechanism warrants closer examination.
Assessment: Moderate Riba
Score: 69.6/100
Our methodology examines 10 specific criteria to evaluate how well Coin98 avoids interest-based mechanisms.
Coin98 generates revenue primarily through fees collected on swap transactions routed through its DEX aggregator and on cross-chain bridge operations via Space Gate. These are service fees tied to actual economic activity rather than returns on lent capital, which places them conceptually closer to permissible ujrah (service charges) than to riba. The protocol treasury is funded through these operational revenues and token allocations rather than through interest-bearing instruments or yield from conventional fixed-income products. There is no publicly documented evidence that the Coin98 treasury holds interest-bearing bonds, money market instruments, or other riba-generating assets, though the project's treasury disclosures are not exhaustively detailed in public documentation, which is a transparency gap worth noting.
The C98 staking mechanism distributes rewards to token holders who lock their tokens within the protocol ecosystem. Critically, these rewards are sourced from protocol-generated fee revenue rather than from a fixed predetermined interest rate applied to staked principal, which is the structural feature that would render a staking arrangement analogous to riba. Because the reward rate fluctuates with actual platform usage and fee generation, the arrangement more closely resembles a profit-sharing model than a fixed-return deposit. Variable, performance-linked returns derived from genuine economic activity are generally regarded by contemporary Islamic finance scholars as permissible, provided the underlying activity generating those fees is itself lawful.
Gharar - How Much Uncertainty Does Coin98 Involve?
Coin98 carries a moderate level of uncertainty that is broadly consistent with the DeFi sector as a whole, stemming from the inherent complexity of multi-chain infrastructure and the evolving nature of its tokenomics. Several factors work to reduce gharar, including an identifiable founding team and publicly available documentation, while others, such as incomplete treasury disclosure and the technical opacity of cross-chain bridge mechanics, introduce meaningful informational gaps. On balance, the uncertainty present is not of the kind that would render participation void under Islamic principles, but investors should be aware of the areas where disclosure falls short.
Assessment: Moderate Gharar (Material Uncertainty)
Score: 56.7/100
Our methodology examines 15 specific criteria including team transparency, audit quality, and governance.
Coin98 was founded by a named team based in Vietnam, with the founders and key personnel publicly identified, which meaningfully reduces the anonymity risk that elevates gharar in many DeFi projects. The project's source code is accessible through public repositories, allowing independent technical review of its core functions. However, the quality and regularity of treasury reporting and operational disclosures are not at the standard of more mature DeFi protocols that publish on-chain treasury dashboards or regular financial summaries. The team's public presence and track record of product delivery since the project's 2021 launch provide some reassurance, but the disclosure infrastructure around financial operations remains an area for improvement.
Coin98 has undergone smart contract audits by recognized blockchain security firms, which is an important baseline for reducing technical uncertainty and protecting users from undisclosed code vulnerabilities. The existence of audits does not eliminate risk entirely, particularly in the context of cross-chain bridge contracts, which are among the most complex and historically exploited components in DeFi. The project's documentation covers its core product suite and tokenomics at a reasonable level of detail, and the token distribution schedule, including allocations for the team, ecosystem fund, and public sale, has been disclosed publicly. Nonetheless, ongoing audit coverage of new contract deployments and more granular treasury reporting would substantially strengthen the project's transparency profile.
Maysir - Does Coin98 Involve Gambling or Speculation?
Coin98 is not designed as a gambling instrument and does not incorporate any mechanism that structurally resembles maysir, such as zero-sum prize pools, randomized reward distributions, or outcomes determined by chance rather than productive activity. The platform's value proposition is rooted in providing genuine infrastructure services, namely wallet management, asset swapping, and cross-chain bridging, that users pay for through transaction fees. The presence of speculative trading in C98 tokens on secondary markets is a characteristic of the broader crypto market and does not reflect the design intent of the protocol itself.
Assessment: Moderate Maysir (High Risk)
Score: 64.5/100
Our methodology examines 11 specific criteria to determine if Coin98 is primarily a gambling instrument or a genuine economic tool.
Coin98's real-world utility is substantive and demonstrable. Users employ the Coin98 Wallet to manage assets across more than 70 blockchains, execute token swaps through aggregated DEX liquidity, and transfer assets between chains through Space Gate. Each of these functions addresses a genuine operational need in the DeFi ecosystem and generates value through service delivery rather than through the redistribution of losses from other participants. The C98 token's role in governance and fee-sharing ties its value to the productive output of the platform, meaning that holders who engage with the protocol are participating in a system that creates economic utility rather than one that merely transfers wealth through chance-based mechanisms.
As with virtually all publicly traded crypto assets, C98 tokens are subject to speculative trading behavior on secondary markets, where price movements can be driven by sentiment and momentum rather than fundamental utility metrics. This is a factual observation about market behavior and, consistent with the judgment principle applicable to all such assets, it is not determinative of the token's own Shariah standing. The protocol itself does not facilitate or profit from speculative trading in its own token, and its revenue model is anchored to genuine service usage. Muslim investors who hold C98 for governance participation and fee-sharing exposure, rather than purely for short-term price speculation, are engaging with the asset in a manner more aligned with its intended productive function.
