By Ian Allison, AI Boost|Edited by Omkar Godbole
Oct 7, 2025, 5:17 a.m.

- Malaysia grants Fasset a provisional license to operate as a Shariah-compliant digital bank.
- Fasset to offer asset-backed savings, zero-interest accounts, and global payments on-chain.
- The $5T Islamic finance market could see broader crypto integration through this model.
Fasset, a digital asset investment platform, has been given a provisional banking license in Malaysia, clearing the way for what it calls the world’s first stablecoin-powered Islamic digital bank.
The move places Fasset within a regulated sandbox for Islamic fintech, enabling the company to expand its existing digital asset platform into full-service banking, the company said in a press release on Tuesday.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
With the new license, Fasset plans to offer Shariah-compliant savings, financing, and investment services that use stablecoins and tokenized assets. Customers will be able to hold deposits, invest in U.S. stocks, gold, and crypto, and spend through a planned Visa-linked crypto card.
CEO Mohammad Raafi Hossain said the new license combines “the credibility of a global banking institution with the innovation of a fintech insurgent.” Fasset also plans to roll out “Own,” an Ethereum Layer 2 network built on Arbitrum, to settle regulated real-world assets on-chain.
The company said that its stablecoin infrastructure allows users to avoid interest-bearing products while preserving the value of their assets against inflation or currency swings. Shariah forbids all forms of interest (known as riba).
Fasset aims to address a persistent gap in financial inclusion across the $5 trillion global Islamic finance industry. Access to halal, asset-backed financial products remains limited in many Muslim-majority regions, especially in Asia and Africa.
Back in March of last year, Fasset won a license to operate in Dubai as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP), and the Dubai- and Jakarta-based company said its platform is already processing more than $6 billion in annualized transaction volume across 125 countries.
AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.
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