International Holding Company (IHC), Sirius International Holding and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) have announced that the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) has approved the UAE dirham-backed stablecoin DDSC to go live.
DDSC will operate on ADI Chain, an institutional Layer-2 blockchain developed by the ADI Foundation, based in Abu Dhabi.
The approval marks the move of DDSC into its operational phase and follows the stablecoin initiative first announced in April 2025 by IHC and FAB. Sirius International Holding, IHC’s technology-focused subsidiary, has joined the project to support deployment, integration and institutional adoption.
DDSC goes live on ADI Chain after Central Bank of the UAE approval
DDSC is designed as a compliant digital financial instrument for institutional and government-led use cases. The companies said it is positioned to support applications including:
- Payments and collections
- High-value settlement and treasury operations
- Trade and supply-chain flows
- Programmable financial services for regulated entities
DDSC is expected to be made available to FAB customers through multiple approved platforms. The partners said this will support institutional and enterprise use cases while maintaining standards of compliance, transparency and operational integrity.
ADI Chain to host UAE dirham-backed stablecoin DDSC
DDSC will operate on ADI Chain, which the companies said is built for governance, scalability and institutional performance. ADI Chain is designed to connect financial systems with blockchain-based digital asset systems, enabling regulated entities to participate with oversight, security and compliance.
The launch of DDSC reinforces the UAE’s position in regulated digital finance and reflects the development of stablecoins within financial infrastructure.
“DDSC marks a defining milestone in the UAE’s digital finance journey. With the Central Bank’s approval and our transition into live operation, we are delivering trusted, institutional-grade infrastructure that strengthens resilience, accelerates innovation, and expands what is possible in regulated digital payments. As a UAE dirham-backed, programmable stablecoin, DDSC is designed to modernize payments, settlement, and treasury workflows, while enabling secure, automated value transfer, including future machine-to-machine transactions and trade between AI agents as the autonomous economy evolves,” Syed Basar Shueb, CEO of IHC said in a statement.
UAE advances digital finance with CBUAE-approved DDSC stablecoin
“This milestone underscores that stablecoins can be integrated responsibly into the financial system when built to meet rigorous regulatory and risk requirements. As the UAE’s global bank, FAB is enabling DDSC to seamlessly combine regulatory oversight with blockchain infrastructure, providing secure, scalable solutions that support institutional and government clients across the UAE’s evolving digital economy,” Futoon Hamdan AlMazrouei, Group Head of Personal, Business, Wealth and Privileged Client Banking Group at First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) added.
“With DDSC now live, we are entering a new phase of regulated digital finance. Sirius is proud to support this national initiative by helping accelerate adoption and unlock real-world institutional applications, enabled by ADI’s sovereign blockchain infrastructure and underpinned by the UAE’s clear regulatory leadership,” Ajay Hans Raj Bhatia, Group CEO of Sirius International Holding further explained.
