Fasset to List Dirham Stablecoin DDSC, Pending VARA Approval
Fasset plans to list the UAE's dirham-backed stablecoin, letting users swap it for USDC and USDT once Dubai's regulator signs off.
Nadia Mansour Nadia Mansour covers fintech across the UAE and MENA for Anecdoted -- digital banking, payments licences and the startups building around them. nadia@anecdoted.com
Fasset intends to list DDSC, the UAE's dirham-backed stablecoin, once Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority grants approval. Approval has not yet been given. If it comes, users would be able to swap DDSC for dollar-pegged stablecoins, including USDC and USDT.
Three institutions issued the token: International Holding Company, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Sirius International Holding. It settles on ADI Chain, an institutional layer-2 blockchain built by ADI Foundation. The peg is fixed at one dirham to one DDSC.
The listing is one element of a larger arrangement. The same partners plan joint card issuance, merchant payment acceptance and fiat on- and off-ramp infrastructure across the UAE. Fasset co-founder and chief executive Mohammad Raafi Hossain framed the goal in everyday terms: DDSC should be as simple to spend, accept and convert as cash, through cards, at merchants and over on/off-ramps inside the country.
DDSC chief executive Mohammed Ahmed said working with a compliance-first platform reflects an intent to grow the token responsibly and transparently, within a clear regulatory framework.
Regulatory groundwork is already laid. The Central Bank of the UAE approved DDSC to go live in February 2026. In July 2026, the token secured a No Objection Certificate from the same regulator, allowing distribution through selected VARA-regulated platforms and opening the door to retail and merchant use.
ADI Chain has drawn collaborations with Mastercard, BlackRock, Franklin Templeton and Chainlink, connections that carry weight with the firms handling custody, settlement and market infrastructure.
What matters most is the route to circulation rather than the peg itself. A dirham-denominated stablecoin becomes useful when holders can move in and out of it and spend it where they already shop. The swap path to USDC and USDT matters because those are the dollar tokens that traders and treasuries already hold, so converting at a regulated venue removes a step for anyone carrying local-currency balances. Card issuance, merchant acceptance and ramps pull in the same direction, attaching the token to point-of-sale terminals instead of leaving it as a trading instrument alone. VARA's decision determines whether DDSC reaches retail users through Fasset, or waits.
Since launch, more than AED150 million, or about US$40.8 million, has been transacted across the DDSC network.
