Digital-asset platform Fasset plans to become the first platform to list DDSC, a stablecoin tied to the United Arab Emirates dirham, as the country extends its regulated digital-currency infrastructure beyond institutional transactions.
Fasset said it would add DDSC after receiving approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.
If cleared, customers with access to the service would be able to hold, transfer and exchange a digital asset denominated in dirhams. Fasset operates in Dubai under the emirate’s virtual-asset framework, where VARA oversees licensed activities outside the Dubai International Financial Centre. The regulator’s rules allow it to require a licensed distributor to suspend or cease services involving specified assets, issuers or clients.
Access through an established platform would broaden DDSC’s distribution beyond the institutional uses emphasized during its initial rollout.
A Dirham Token Built for Regulated Payments
DDSC was developed through a collaboration involving Abu Dhabi-listed International Holding Company, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Sirius International Holding. The token is issued through AEDC Stablecoin Network & Distribution LLC and operates on ADI Chain, an institutional blockchain developed by the Abu Dhabi-based ADI Foundation.
The Central Bank of the UAE approved DDSC for operational launch in February 2026. The planned uses include payments and collections, treasury operations, trade settlement and programmable services for regulated organizations.
Each DDSC is intended to maintain parity with one UAE dirham. The project’s official website says users can convert dirhams into DDSC at a one-to-one rate and redeem the tokens into UAE bank accounts. It also says DDSC is currently operational on ADI Chain.
Distribution Could Test Demand Beyond Institutions
DDSC’s early activity has centered on institutional adoption. In May, IHC completed a transaction worth approximately $29.95 million (AED 110 million) using the stablecoin on ADI Chain. The transaction demonstrated that the network could process a large-value transfer.
A platform listing would present a different test: whether businesses and eligible individual users want to keep, move or exchange value in a dirham-linked token. Dollar-denominated stablecoins continue to dominate global activity, while regulated tokens tied to other currencies occupy a much smaller part of the market. DDSC may be most relevant to users whose payments, accounts or obligations are already denominated in UAE currency.
Fasset’s involvement also connects two regulatory layers. The Central Bank supervises the dirham-backed payment-token framework, while VARA regulates virtual-asset services offered from Dubai within its jurisdiction. IHC said in July that DDSC had received central-bank approval to work with selected VARA-regulated exchange platforms.
Fasset’s proposed listing marks a shift in DDSC’s development from controlled institutional deployment toward broader distribution.
Fasset says its financial services reach more than three million user accounts across 125 countries and regions. That existing footprint would give DDSC a distribution channel substantially different from the institutional transactions that characterized its initial rollout.
Reserve transparency forms another part of the token’s operating structure. The dirhams backing the token are held in ring-fenced accounts with licensed custodians, while third-party reserve attestations are conducted monthly and published through a public dashboard.
The DDSC initiative was first announced by IHC and First Abu Dhabi Bank in April 2025. Sirius International Holding later joined the project during its operational phase, supporting the token’s deployment, technical integration and adoption among institutional users.
