Launched by IHC and First Abu Dhabi Bank, the DDSС stablecoin goes live with approval and license from the UAE Central Bank, proving the ADI Chain is ready to support regulated global financial and capital market infrastructure at scale.
Dirham-backed stablecoin DDSC is currently live on the ADI Chain. The venture, which supports the UAE’s Dirham Reserve on a one-to-one basis, was launched by International Holding Company (IHC), one of the world’s largest investment companies with capital of $240 billion, and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the UAE’s largest bank with over $330 billion in assets and 33% of the UAE’s banking market share.
DDSC is approved and licensed by the UAE Central Bank and operates exclusively on ADI Chain, an institutional-grade layer 2 blockchain infrastructure built for national scale deployments. FAB will act as a banking partner, providing custody of fiat reserves and bringing 4 million customers across 20 markets and decades of banking infrastructure onto programmable blockchain rails.
The model is designed with clear separation in mind. IHC and FAB launched the stablecoin project, with Sirius International Holding supporting deployment and institutional adoption. DDSC, a registered entity, acts as the seller and issuer. The UAE Central Bank approved this and granted a license. ADI Chain hosts this on a compliant infrastructure.
Proof of compliance-ready blockchain models
Stablecoins have reached global scale. According to a16z crypto’s State of Crypto report, stablecoin transactions exceeded $46 trillion in 2024. Currently, its usage resembles traditional payment rails rather than speculative trading. Digital cash is moving from a crypto-native tool to a strategic national infrastructure.
DDSC has shown that compliance requirements are consistent with the benefits of public blockchains. This infrastructure provides instant payments, 24/7 availability, and transparent transaction rails. According to industry data, the UAE processes over $70 billion in digital payment transactions annually, in addition to nearly $50 billion in cross-border remittances and significant trade flows across the MENA, Asia and Africa corridors. The DDSC stablecoin provides a payment rail that is compliant with these existing flows.
When central banks trust blockchain infrastructure for financial payments, governments and institutions around the world take notice. Post-mainnet, Analog Devices signed memorandums of understanding with BlackRock, Mastercard, and Franklin Templeton for tokenized asset payments, blockchain payment rails, and digital product infrastructure, and partnered with M-Pesa Africa for cross-border remittance rails across eight markets in Africa. These collaborations demonstrate a compliance-first approach.
Infrastructure supporting sovereign payments
ADI Chain is the first institutional layer 2 blockchain for stablecoins and real-world assets in MENA. The ADI Foundation was established by Sirius International Holding, the digital arm of IHC, one of the world’s largest investment holding companies.
The foundation developed ADI Chain as a purpose-built infrastructure for emerging markets without compromising compliance, security, and regulatory integrity.
The architecture is based on three pillars.
Compliance-ready infrastructure begins with the ADI Foundation, which operates under the ADGM regulatory framework.
Efficient execution leverages ZKsync’s Airbender technology, making ADI the first blockchain to implement the latest generation of zero-knowledge proof systems.
Secure architecture is verified through OpenZeppelin’s comprehensive audits covering core contracts, infrastructure, token standards, and critical systems.
This combination creates an infrastructure that addresses the needs of organizations without compromising the benefits of public blockchain technology.
ADI: Utility Token
All blockchains require gas tokens to function. For governments and institutions building compliant infrastructure, their tokens need to provide functionality beyond processing transactions.
ADI will serve as the core utility token for MENA’s first institutional layer 2 ecosystem. This token handles all smart contract executions, dApp interactions, and value transfers across the ADI chain and its L3 sovereign network. It acts as a medium of exchange for the entire ecosystem, facilitating payments between businesses, developers, validators, and users, creating an integrated payments layer for network operations.
The DDSC stablecoin runs on the ADI Chain infrastructure, and ADI acts as a utility token to power on-chain transactions. When a user transfers DDSC for payment, settlement, or cross-border remittance, ADI handles the underlying blockchain operations.
way forward
DDSC represents the first step in a larger infrastructure strategy. The roadmap follows clear steps to prove the model in the UAE dirham, expand to other GCC currencies, connect to Africa via M-Pesa infrastructure, and enable interoperable payments across MENA-Africa-Asia.
The goal is a network of regional stablecoins backed by institutional investors, all interoperable on the ADI chain, creating a compliant payments infrastructure for emerging markets. The ADI Foundation is building the infrastructure to support multiple governments launching regional stablecoins on the same compliant payment layer.
A year ago, ADI Foundation announced its launch at Abu Dhabi Finance Week. Twelve months later, we returned to the same stage to announce the launch of our mainnet. Today, dirham-backed stablecoin DDSC goes live on the ADI Chain, proving that regulated national stablecoins can operate on public blockchain infrastructure.
About ADI Foundation and ADI Chain
The ADI Foundation is an Abu Dhabi-based non-profit organization founded by Sirius International Holding, a subsidiary of IHC, dedicated to empowering governments and institutions in emerging markets through blockchain infrastructure. The Foundation’s mission is to build on the more than 500 million people already within its ecosystem and bring 1 billion people into the digital economy by 2030.
ADI Chain is the first institutional layer 2 blockchain for stablecoins and real-world assets in the MENA region, providing a payment infrastructure for dirham-backed stablecoins licensed by the UAE Central Bank and launched by IHC and FAB. The network operates on three pillars: compliance, efficiency, and security, serving governments deploying blockchain infrastructure across the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.
For more information, please visit our official website, LinkedIn, and X.
Disclaimer: The ADI Foundation is a not-for-profit DLT Foundation (“ADI”) based in Abu Dhabi, registered with the Abu Dhabi Global Market (“ADGM”) under commercial license number (20599) and governed by the DLT Foundation Regulations of ADGM 2023. The ADI Chain and Tokens developed by ADI are not subject to registration with ADGM’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (“FSRA”). ADI’s chain is used by regulated and unregulated third parties for the deployment of digital assets.
ADI Chain and ADI Token are developed by ADI. ADI only issues utility tokens that are not digital assets that are regulated under the regulatory framework of ADGM’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority (“FSRA”), and therefore ADI’s tokens are not subject to registration with the FSRA or any other financial regulatory authority.
All features, token utilities, timelines, and launch details are subject to change without notice. There are no guarantees as to future performance or value of Tokens. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment, legal, or tax advice, or an offer to buy or sell any digital assets. Investing funds involves risk.
