Kinesis Gold (KAU) is currently marked questionable - not a clean pass or a confirmed fail, per our own multi-standard crypto screen. Our full reasoning, the standards behind it and the facts it rests on are below.
The standards we screen on do not agree about this asset.
4 of 6 permit it; 2 do not. We report that as unsettled rather than picking a side for you.
Not fully corroborated, and it matters. 2 separate models read this coin and gave different answers for return mechanism, is interest bearing, and the difference changes the outcome: on one reading this coin comes out non-compliant and on another questionable. We publish the reading we hold and tell you it is contested, rather than presenting a verdict as firmer than its basis.
Not established: transparent governance. Our verdict does not assume anything about these — where they would change the answer, we say so rather than guessing.
The Council's ruling is Bitcoin-specific and says other coins need separate examination; this is not a currency-like asset, so its name is not attached to a pass here.
Fiqh Council of North America, “Regarding the Islamic Ruling on Bitcoins” — default permissibility; treated as fiat currency, so all riba rulings and bai’ al-sarf apply
No clear evidence of prohibition: no riba, no impermissible underlying activity, and a real function.
Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America — Dr. Salah Al-Sawy (Secretary General) and Dr. Yasir Qadhi: transactions are permissible unless clear evidence prohibits them
This standard requires transparent governance to be established, and we could not establish it. An unestablished requirement is not a satisfied one, so this reads as unresolved rather than as a pass.
Securities Commission Malaysia, Shariah Advisory Council, 233rd-234th meetings, June-July 2020
Project, token and reward layers all pass.
Amanah Advisors, Crypto Shariah Screening Framework (Mufti Faraz Adam)
A real function, and no interest-derived return.
Amanie Advisors (Dr. Daud Bakar) — Shariah certification of Ethereum staking; validation treated as a real service rendered to the network rather than a return on capital
No interest-derived return to the holder.
AAOIFI Shariah Standards - riba and non-permissible income, applied to the token's return mechanism (no dedicated crypto standard exists)
Backed by a tangible commodity, which answers the intrinsic-value objection even if the wrapper remains debated.
Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani (crypto trading and investment impermissible); Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah (Egypt, 2018); Diyanet Isleri Baskanligi (Turkey, 2017)
The restrictive position above is shown but excluded from our own verdict: it rejects most digital assets including Bitcoin on gharar alone, so letting it decide would mark nearly everything non-compliant — which is neither our conclusion nor a defensible reading of the evidence. Hiding it would be worse.
This is our own screening verdict, reached by applying each named standard ourselves to the facts above, last established 2026-08-29. Research, not a fatwa — for a decision that binds you, ask a scholar you trust.
What is Kinesis gold (KAU)? Kinesis gold (KAU) is a gold-backed cryptocurrency, launched by Kinesis - a global trading and digital asset utility platform. Each Kinesis gold (KAU) token is backed by 1 gram of investment-grade gold bullion, securely stored in Kinesis’ fully insured, audited vaults. The mission behind KAU is to reintroduce physical gold backing to money and provide the global community with a stable store of value. Kinesis gold (KAU) has the everyday utility of a fiat currency; the borderless efficiency of a cryptocurrency, and none of the inherent volatility. KAU enables physical gold bullion to be instantly purchased, traded, spent and sent anywhere in the world, bringing real-world access, value, and utility to physical precious metals. A true stablecoin, KAU allows crypto traders to easily exit volatile markets and enter into the enduring value of physical gold, while earning a monthly yield. What makes KAU unique? In an economic first, KAU holders earned the first debt-free yield on precious metals. All KAU holders receive a passive yield - paid monthly in KAU - simply for holding their metals on the Kinesis platform. The yield is calculated from a 15% share of Kinesis’ global transaction fee revenue which is shared with users who store their gold on the platform. At the time of writing, Kinesis has paid out over $3,000,000 to KAU holders. Unlike other gold tokens, KAU can be instantly spent with the Kinesis Virtual Card, worldwide. Accessible via mobile device, the virtual card lets people everywhere instantly convert their KAU holdings into local currency at the point of sale, anywhere Mastercard is accepted. Through digitalising physical gold in the form of KAU, Kinesis has successfully reintroduced gold as a currency. Can I redeem my gold? Every single gram of gold underpinning KAU is available for redemption, at the click of a button. While other gold-backed cryptos offer redemption, they often set very high minimum withdrawal limits. ERC-20 KAU is an Ethereum-based gold-backed digital asset issued by KMS Labs S.A., a company incorporated in Panama. Each ERC-20 KAU token represents a 1:1 claim on Kinesis KAU held in reserve by KMS Labs. Kinesis KAU is the underlying digital gold instrument issued by Kinesis Cayman on the Kinesis blockchain (a Stellar fork) and is itself backed 1:1 by fully allocated physical gold bullion stored in insured third-party vaults by ABX's vault partners. Holders of ERC-20 KAU can transfer their tokens to the Kinesis platform to access the broader Kinesis ecosystem, including yield distribution under the Kinesis fee-sharing structure and the Kinesis Virtual Card. Redemption of ERC-20 tokens for native Kinesis KAU (and ultimately physical gold) is subject to KMS Labs' terms and conditions and compliance onboarding requirements.
Background via CoinGecko — informational, not part of the verdict.
Peer movement computing — it will appear here on its own.
Plain-language summary of the evidence already on this page — the Sharia screen, structure, momentum, and order flow above. It explains the read; it doesn't make the call. Generated on demand (a live AI call), never run automatically.