DDSC, the UAE dirham stablecoin backed by IHC, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Sirius International Holding, has received a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) allowing it to be distributed via selected exchanges regulated by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). The step would extend the stablecoin beyond institutional settlement to retail and merchant payments, although no exchanges were named and the announcement notes the listings remain subject to meeting the NOC’s requirements.
The approval bridges two of the UAE’s regulatory regimes. Dirham-denominated payment tokens fall under the central bank’s Payment Token Services Regulation, while crypto exchanges in Dubai answer to VARA. Hence, distributing a CBUAE-licensed stablecoin through Dubai trading venues required the central bank’s sign-off.
DDSC launched in February on ADI Chain, the Layer 2 blockchain developed by the ADI Foundation, which was founded by IHC subsidiary Sirius. When the initiative was first announced in April 2025, sovereign investor ADQ was named as a third partner alongside FAB and IHC, but has not featured in announcements since the launch.
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