Crypto is now a meaningful asset class for many Muslim investors. Zakat methodology for crypto follows the standard zakat-on-wealth pattern, with some category-specific notes.
Treatment as wealth: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and most major cryptocurrencies are treated as wealth or commodity-equivalent for zakat purposes by mainstream Mufti opinions. They count toward your zakatable wealth at year-end market value.
Computation: include the USD-equivalent value of your crypto holdings in your total zakatable wealth. If the sum (after subtracting debts due within the year) exceeds the nisab threshold, zakat is due at 2.5%.
Holdings held for trading vs holdings held for investment: under mainstream methodology, both are zakatable at full value. Some scholars distinguish, treating long-term holdings as a different category; check your scholar's view if relevant.
NFTs: zakat treatment varies. If treated as a personal-use asset, no zakat. If treated as an investment held for resale, zakatable at year-end market value. Mufti review on NFTs specifically lands when corpus content covers it.
Staking and yield: returns from staking, lending, or yield protocols raise separate Sharia questions about whether the underlying activity is permissible. Beyond Sharia compliance, returns received during the zakat year add to your zakatable wealth.
Use the HalalRates zakat calculator to compute the math; this article covers methodology. Editorial; a Mufti-signed methodology replaces this when corpus content covers crypto zakat.