TakaDao Raises $3.1 Million: Islamic Decentralized Finance Moves From Theory To Practice
A Strong Signal For Ethical Finance
On November 17, 2025, the startup TakaDao announced a significant fundraising round of $3.1 million, marking a major milestone in the development of Islamic decentralized finance (Islamic DeFi). Based in Riyadh and Singapore, this young company is driven by a clear vision led by its co-founder and CEO, Morrad Irsane, who states the goal to “empower communities to achieve financial freedom for all via community-based finance and insurance.” Far from being a mere financial announcement, this raise represents a concrete step toward the convergence of traditional Islamic finance—respectful of Sharia principles—and the disruptive innovations of blockchain technology.
In a context where ethics and financial responsibility are gaining increasing importance, TakaDao embodies the ambition of an alternative, inclusive, and transparent financial model. By leveraging the strength of an engaged community and the power of decentralized technologies, the project explores new ways to offer 1.9 billion Muslims worldwide finance aligned with their values while benefiting from the advantages of Web3.
Untapped Potential: Islamic Finance In The Digital Era
The global Islamic finance market today represents a rapidly expanding giant. In 2024, Islamic assets were estimated at $3.5 trillion, with projections reaching up to $9.7 trillion by 2029, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 12%[1][6][7]. This dynamic is driven by growing demand, notably in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and certain European and American communities.
However, this enormous market remains largely untapped within the decentralized finance ecosystem. The total value locked (TVL) in Islamic DeFi does not exceed $50 million, representing less than 0.05% of the overall DeFi market[10]. This gap highlights a tremendous opportunity for players able to offer solutions that meet Sharia requirements while leveraging blockchain technology.
This opportunity is further reinforced by the spectacular growth in cryptocurrency adoption in Muslim-majority countries. Between 2024 and 2025, Indonesia showed a growth of +170%, Saudi Arabia +150%, Qatar +120%, while the United Arab Emirates, already mature, continued growing at +50%[5]. These figures far exceed average rates in Europe and the United States, demonstrating strong appetite for innovative financial alternatives.
However, most existing DeFi solutions do not comply with the religious and ethical constraints of Islamic finance, leaving a large portion of this population underbanked within the decentralized ecosystem. It is in this context that TakaDao steps in, offering a concrete and innovative response.
TakaDao: A Concrete Response To A Latent Need
TakaDao has identified and addressed the specific needs of a community seeking financial alternatives compliant with Sharia while benefiting from digital advantages. Its ecosystem is built around three flagship products that form a coherent and complementary whole.
The LifeDAO: The Community "NoBank"
The LifeDAO embodies the vision of a bank literally owned by its community in a fully decentralized manner. It offers a DeFi wallet, a life protection fund, non-custodial investment pools, and a members’ hub dedicated to financial education and networking around Web3.
The key principle: deposited funds remain the exclusive property of users, are not custodialized by TakaDao or LifeDAO, and surpluses generated by operations are redistributed to members. This approach ensures transparency, control, and fairness, consistent with Islamic principles.
With a TVL already at $1 million in affiliated funds, The LifeDAO is tangible proof of traction in several target markets, notably Malaysia, France, and the United Kingdom.
The LifeCard: The Crypto Prepaid Visa Card
The LifeCard is a crypto prepaid Visa card collectively owned by community members. It allows spending stablecoins like cash wherever Visa is accepted, thus creating a concrete bridge between the virtual world of Web3 and the real world.
Its unique features include profit sharing from card fees among members, automatic rounding up to save and invest with each transaction, as well as 0% interest microloans based on the card’s top-up history. These elements embody TakaDao’s commitment to providing tools compliant with Islamic finance, notably by avoiding riba (interest).
NoBank: A Decentralized Banking Alternative
NoBank represents the vision of a clear alternative to traditional banks, where users retain full control over their assets without relying on centralized intermediaries. This solution naturally complements the TakaDao ecosystem by offering a community-based, ethical, and decentralized financial model.
This combination of innovative products, supported by DAO governance aligned with the principle of shura (Islamic consultation), lays the foundation for a sustainable and scalable model.
The "Halal" Blockchain: When Technology Embraces Ethical Principles
Blockchain is not simply a technical means: its fundamental characteristics naturally align with the requirements of Islamic finance.
In traditional DeFi, one often observes the presence of riba (interest via interest-bearing loans), gharar (excessive uncertainty), and maysir (speculation or gambling). These practices are incompatible with Sharia. In contrast, Islamic DeFi advocates profit-sharing models (mudarabah), transparent transactions based on real assets, and exclusion of haram sectors.
More specifically, the following alignments between blockchain and Sharia principles are noted:
Transparency (Blockchain) ↔ Total Transparency (Sharia): Blockchain offers traceability and immutability of data, ensuring full disclosure of terms and risks.
Decentralization (Blockchain) ↔ Justice And Absence Of Exploitation (Adl): The absence of centralized intermediaries reduces exploitation risks and promotes fair distribution.
Smart Contracts (Blockchain) ↔ Automated Compliance And Respect Of Agreements: Smart contracts enable automation of Sharia rules, guaranteeing their enforcement without biased human intervention.
Non-Custodial Wallets (Blockchain) ↔ Full Ownership And Responsibility (Amanah): Users directly own their assets, assuming responsibility for their management.
This technological and ethical synergy paves the way for a credible, compliant, and innovative Islamic decentralized finance.
The Road Ahead: Challenges And Opportunities Of Islamic DeFi
Despite immense potential, Islamic DeFi faces several major challenges. Standardizing Sharia compliance remains complex, with varied interpretations and high validation costs (up to $20,000 per startup). This fragmentation slows cross-border scalability.
Education and awareness are also obstacles: the complexity of concepts combining DeFi and Sharia, as well as distrust toward crypto, hinder adoption. Moreover, returns offered by Islamic DeFi—necessarily more moderate to avoid riba and maysir—must compete with attractive traditional alternatives.
Furthermore, regulation, especially related to products like the Visa LifeCard, requires increased vigilance and adaptation to varied national frameworks.
In this context, TakaDao’s strategy appears solid: a pool of strategic and geographically diversified investors (Malaysia, France, UK, US, Saudi Arabia, Japan) brings expertise and credibility. The invite-only community approach creates a trustful environment conducive to expansion. Finally, the concrete products offered directly meet user expectations, fostering organic adoption.
These elements suggest a promising trajectory, even though the path remains fraught with challenges.
Conclusion: Building The Future Of Ethical Finance
TakaDao is more than a simple startup: it is a movement embodying the meeting of tradition and innovation, ethics and technology. By giving users control over their assets and applying the principles of justice (adl), responsibility (amanah), consultation (shura), and common good (maslaha), the project proposes a credible and sustainable model of Islamic decentralized finance.
For the Crypto P2P Club community, this advancement invites reflection on the role blockchain technology can play in creating a more just, inclusive, and value-respecting financial system. Following TakaDao’s evolution closely means participating in this silent revolution that could transform finance for billions of individuals.
In sum, Islamic decentralized finance is moving from theory into practice, driven by committed and visionary actors.
References
[1] Entrepreneur Middle East - TakaDao Raises $3.1M (Nov 17, 2025)
https://www.entrepreneur.com/en-ae/finance/TakaDao-raises-us31-million-in-total-funding-and-launches/499474
[2] FinTech Weekly - Islamic DeFi: A New Frontier (Apr 21, 2025)
https://www.fintechweekly.com/magazine/articles/islamic-defi-ethical-decentralized-finance
[3] Islamic Finance Guru - What Is DeFi? Is It Halal? (Sep 1, 2025)
https://www.islamicfinanceguru.com/articles/what-is-defi-is-it-halal
[4] LSEG Islamic Finance Development Report 2025
https://www.lseg.com/reports/islamic-finance-development-2025
[5] S&P Global Ratings - Islamic Finance 2025-2026 (Apr 17, 2025)
https://www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/research/articles/250417-islamic-finance-2025-2026-projection
[6] Mordor Intelligence - Islamic Finance Market Report (Jun 22, 2025)
https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/islamic-finance-market
[7] Arab News - Global Islamic Finance Assets (Oct 15, 2025)
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1982731/business-economy
[8] Fitch Ratings - Sukuk Market Forecast (2025)
https://www.fitchratings.com/research/structured-finance/islamic-sukuk-market-forecast-2025
[9] Pew Research - Global Muslim Population (2023)
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2023/04/26/muslim-population-growth
[10] DeFiLlama - Islamic DeFi TVL (2024)
https://defillama.com/islamic-defi-tracking