Key Takeaways
- The stablecoin project is being developed by ADQ, the Emirate’s sovereign wealth fund; First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the country’s largest lender by assets; and International Holding Company
- The currency will be deployed on the ADI blockchain, an infrastructure developed by the ADI Foundation
Three of Abu Dhabi’s financial powerhouses are preparing to launch a new digital currency pegged to the UAE dirham.
The stablecoin project is being developed by ADQ, the Emirate’s sovereign wealth fund; First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the country’s largest lender by assets; and International Holding Company (IHC), a major investment firm with deep ties to the capital’s ruling elite.
Pending regulatory clearance, the digital asset will be issued by FAB and fully backed by the dirham under the oversight of the UAE Central Bank.
The currency will be deployed on the ADI blockchain, an infrastructure developed by the ADI Foundation, a nonprofit focused on enabling blockchain use within traditional financial systems and governments. The consortium says the coin is intended to support not only human-to-human transactions but also emerging use cases like machine-to-machine payments and AI-driven processes.
“This initiative strengthens the UAE’s digital foundations while positioning the country at the frontier of blockchain adoption,” said a statement from ADQ, which manages investments across infrastructure and supply chains.
IHC, with a market capitalization exceeding $240 billion, and FAB, formed through a 2017 merger, bring considerable capital and influence to the venture. Their backing gives the project institutional weight in a fast-evolving and often volatile crypto sector.
Stablecoins have become key players in digital finance, providing a bridge between volatile cryptocurrencies and traditional currencies. While U.S. dollar-backed tokens dominate the landscape—Tether and USDC accounting for 90% of the $230 billion market—other countries are beginning to issue their own fiat-backed digital currencies to retain control and encourage domestic adoption.
In December, the UAE rolled out its first dirham-backed token, AE Coin. That was followed in March by a $2 billion investment from UAE-based MGX into Binance.
FAB CEO Hana Al Rostamani described the coin as a shift in the way digital payments could be used in everyday life. “This represents a fundamental change in how consumers and businesses will interact with blockchain technologies in the Emirates,” she said.
