The United Arab Emirates has marked another milestone in its expanding digital finance sector after International Holding Company (IHC) completed a 110 million dirham ($30 million) transaction using the DDSC stablecoin on ADI Chain, in what the company described as one of the country’s largest publicly disclosed stablecoin transfers.
The transaction comes shortly after the UAE central bank approved the dirham-backed stablecoin ecosystem developed by IHC, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), and Sirius International Holding. DDSC operates on ADI Chain, a layer-2 blockchain network built by the ADI Foundation to support institutional-grade financial services, including cross-border payments, treasury operations and trade settlements.
According to IHC, the transfer was designed to showcase the scalability and institutional capabilities of DDSC and ADI Chain, with long-term plans focused on strengthening payment corridors between the Middle East and international markets. FAB remains the UAE’s largest bank by assets, while IHC is among the country’s biggest listed investment conglomerates.
The development underscores the UAE’s accelerating push to establish a regulated stablecoin and digital asset ecosystem. Earlier this year, Universal Digital launched USDU, which it described as the first US dollar-backed stablecoin registered under the UAE central bank’s Payment Token Services Regulation framework.
The UAE has increasingly attracted global crypto firms and financial institutions seeking a regulated base for regional digital asset operations.
Recent months have seen a wave of institutional expansion across the country’s crypto sector. Earlier in May, Crypto.com secured a Stored Value Facilities license from the UAE central bank, enabling residents to pay Dubai government service fees using cryptocurrencies through the platform. The move aligns with Dubai’s wider strategy to accelerate cashless payment adoption across government services.
In another development, BNY partnered with Finstreet and the ADI Foundation to launch institutional digital asset custody services in Abu Dhabi. The initial offering supports Bitcoin and Ether, with future plans to expand into stablecoins and tokenized assets.
Meanwhile, crypto exchange Kraken announced on Thursday that it had received preliminary approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). The approval is expected to support services including UAE dirham funding, margin trading, over-the-counter trading and institutional solutions through Kraken Prime.
The latest announcements further reinforce the UAE’s ambition to integrate regulated blockchain infrastructure and stablecoins into mainstream institutional finance and payment systems.
