Is the Arcus Airdrop Halal or Haram?
The Arcus project is primarily a decentralized exchange for highly leveraged perpetual futures, which is an impermissible business activity. Consequently, receiving and holding its points or future tokens is considered Haram. While a user could technically join the waitlist using only permissible social tasks, the underlying project's core focus on derivatives renders participation impermissible.
Airdrop Tasks
Connect X (Twitter) and follow
RequiredConnecting social accounts is a permissible administrative task.
Connect Web3 wallet
RequiredConnecting a wallet is a neutral, permissible action.
Connect wallets with perps history
OptionalThis task explicitly rewards users for a history of impermissible perpetual futures trading.
Refer other traders
OptionalEarning a percentage of referrals' trading fees is highly problematic as the platform primarily facilitates impermissible perps trading.
Trade Stock Tokens on Spot Beta
OptionalTrading spot stocks may be permissible depending on the underlying asset, but caution is advised on a derivatives-focused platform.
Trade perpetual futures in Perps Beta
OptionalTrading perpetual futures with leverage is strictly impermissible.
Why This Verdict
The overall verdict for Arcus is Haram. Holding: Receiving and holding Arcus points or future tokens is impermissible because the underlying project is primarily a decentralized exchange focused on highly leveraged perpetual futures, which violates Shariah principles against riba (interest) and maisir (gambling). Mechanisms: The campaign involves several tasks with varying rulings. Connecting a Web3 wallet and linking an X (Twitter) account are mandatory administrative tasks considered Halal. However, optional tasks are highly problematic. Connecting wallets with a history of perpetuals trading on platforms like dYdX or Hyperliquid, and actively trading perpetual futures in the Arcus Perps Beta, are strictly Haram. Referring other traders to earn a percentage of their trading fees is Doubtful, as the platform facilitates impermissible derivatives trading. Trading stock tokens on the Spot Beta is also Doubtful, as it requires caution on a derivatives-focused platform.
Points of Caution
- !The core business of Arcus relies on cross-margined perpetual futures with up to 50x leverage, which involves impermissible elements of riba (interest) and maisir (excessive speculation).
- !The campaign explicitly rewards users for having a past history of impermissible perpetual futures trading on other platforms.
- !The referral program compensates users with a percentage of trading fees generated by referred users, meaning income is derived from facilitating impermissible derivatives trading.
Purification Note
As the core business activity and the token itself are deemed Haram, participation in the airdrop and holding the token are impermissible. Therefore, purification is not applicable; the entire asset should be avoided.
Bottom Line
Arcus is a decentralized exchange heavily focused on leveraged perpetual futures, making its core business incompatible with Islamic finance principles. While users can technically join the waitlist using permissible social tasks, the points and future tokens are directly tied to an impermissible derivatives platform. Scrupulous Muslim investors should avoid participating in this airdrop campaign and refrain from holding its tokens. Please consult a qualified Shariah scholar for final religious guidance.
How this verdict was reached
This is not an opinion issued by ShariaQuant. It is the output of a documented screening methodology applied to researched facts about Arcus, and every row above states the specific evidence that drove it — so the reasoning can be examined rather than taken on trust.
An airdrop raises two separate questions, and both are answered: whether the reward token is permissible to receive and hold, and whether the tasks required to qualify are themselves permissible. Every eligibility task is ruled individually, so a campaign can be usable by completing only the permissible tasks.
Lending and borrowing tasks are assessed as riba, perpetual and margin trading as excessive uncertainty (gharar), and prediction markets or chance-based games as gambling (maisir).
The framework follows published scholarship rather than in-house opinion. Treating a digital asset as a right (ḥaqq) that becomes recognised property (māl) only on stated conditions follows “Is Crypto Halal? The Definitive Shariah Guide to Crypto and Digital Assets” by Mufti Faraz Adam (Amanah Advisors, 2026), which reproduces the conditions identified by Mufti Taqi Usmani. Financial thresholds follow the AAOIFI screening standard. The rulings we track are collected in the fatwa library.
AAOIFI has not reviewed, approved or endorsed this report or ShariaQuant, and no scholar named in our methodology has reviewed this individual verdict. This is analysis, not a fatwa — final religious authority rests with a qualified scholar.
This is an AI research platform and the screening engine is under active development. We keep improving how facts are gathered and checked, and a report is re-issued in full when an asset is screened again rather than amended in place.
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