The News
The UAE national security adviser’s firms are leading an effort to roll out a dirham-backed stablecoin.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, brother of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, has lined up the three of the largest entities he chairs — sovereign wealth fund ADQ, which focuses on infrastructure and energy investments; First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the UAE’s largest lender; and conglomerate International Holding Co. — as the founding partners in the stablecoin project, which is awaiting regulatory approval from the UAE Central Bank.
The new digital asset — a cryptocurrency whose value will be pegged to the Emirati dirham — will be issued by FAB, and be managed on the ADI Foundation’s blockchain, an IHC-backed entity launched this year with the aim of developing an international payments network. ADI has signed on 20 governments in Africa and Europe, according to the firm.
