UAE central bank approves launch of dollar-backed stablecoin USDU
The token is fully backed 1:1 by U.S. dollar reserves and is the first stablecoin authorized to operate under the country’s central bank payment regime
29.01.2026 - 08:50
199
2 min
0
Key points:
- USDU is the first USD stablecoin approved by the UAE Central Bank.
- Reserves are held 1:1 in accounts at major domestic banks.
- The stablecoin is authorized for official settlement use.
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates has approved the launch of the country’s first dollar-denominated stablecoin, USDU, under the Payment Token Services Regulation framework. The token has already entered circulation and can be used for settlements involving digital assets within a regulated environment.
USDU is issued by Universal Digital, which is registered as a foreign payment token provider. Issuance and reserve management are conducted under the supervision of UAE regulators.
How the model works
USDU is fully backed by U.S. dollars on a 1:1 basis. Reserves are held in safeguarded accounts at Emirates NBD, Mashreq and Mbank. This structure meets regulatory requirements for settlement digital assets and enables the stablecoin’s use in institutional transactions.
Under current UAE rules, transactions involving digital assets and derivatives must be conducted either in fiat currency or via registered payment tokens — a category that now includes USDU.
Infrastructure and access
Infrastructure firm Aquanow has been appointed as USDU’s global distributor. The company will provide institutional access to the stablecoin outside the UAE in jurisdictions where such activity is permitted by law.
Universal Digital said the launch of USDU lays the groundwork for scaling regulated onchain settlements and expanding payment infrastructure for digital assets.
In November 2025, the UAE conducted its first government transaction using the digital dirham as part of a national CBDC pilot. The payment was processed on the mBridge platform in under two minutes.
Useful material?
Telegram 
Twitter Incidents
The company is linking the incident to a compromised private key on a service wallet, rather than a smart contract exploit
May 22, 2026
Incidents
Following the incident, the project temporarily halted trading operations and node activity.
May 15, 2026
Incidents
The user spent weeks unsuccessfully trying to guess the password until Claude helped find an old wallet backup file
May 14, 2026
Crypto regulations
Authorities are introducing mandatory registration for companies handling cross-border crypto transactions
May 8, 2026
Incidents
According to Blockaid, the attack may have been carried out by the same hacker behind the 1inch Fusion V1 exploit.
May 7, 2026
Incidents
The attacker gained administrative access and altered contracts to drain user funds
Apr 30, 2026
Cryptocurrency rates
-
Bitcoin
$65 634
BTC
-2.45%
-
Ethereum
$2 551.16
ETH
+3.56%
-
BNB Smart Chain
$579.4
BSC
+1.23%
-
Ripple
$1.22
XRP
-0.63%
-
Dogecoin
$0.092949
DOGE
-1.02%
-
TRON
$0.160134
TRX
-1.59%
-
Zcash
$628.6
ZEC
+3.67%
-
Cardano
$0.205629
ADA
-4.64%
-
Stellar XLM
$0.214138
XLM
-2.56%
-
Polkadot
$3.32
DOT
+5.27%