UAE’s First Central Bank Registered USD Stablecoin Launches Nationwide

A USD-backed stablecoin has been formally introduced into the UAE’s regulated financial system after Universal Digital Intl Limited launched USDU under a framework overseen by Abu Dhabi Global Market. The token is the first to be registered by the Central Bank of the UAE as a Foreign Payment Token under the Payment Token Services Regulation, making Universal the country’s first registered issuer of its kind.

Under the regulation, payments involving digital assets and digital-asset derivatives in the UAE may only be settled using fiat currency or a Registered Foreign Payment Token. USDU is currently the only token to meet that requirement. Its use is limited to the domestic settlement of digital assets and derivatives and does not extend to general retail payments.

USDU is fully backed on a one-to-one basis by U.S. dollars held in safeguarded onshore accounts with Emirates NBD and Mashreq, with Mbank acting as a strategic corporate banking partner. Reserve balances are independently attested on a monthly basis by a global accounting firm, reflecting transparency standards emerging in jurisdictions including the European Union and Japan.

The stablecoin has been designed to integrate with the UAE’s wider regulated digital-payments ecosystem. Universal is working with AECoin, the UAE’s licensed dirham-denominated stablecoin, to enable future conversion mechanisms for domestic settlement. Aquanow has been appointed as global distribution partner, with its UAE operations regulated by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.

Beyond the UAE, USDU is intended to connect with international digital-asset markets where permitted by local regulation. Universal said it is developing a broader institutional ecosystem with banks, market operators and technology partners to support regulated settlement use cases.