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USDU became the first USD stablecoin approved by the Central Bank of the UAE.
Reserves are kept 1:1 in accounts at the largest banks in the country.
The stablecoin is allowed for official settlements.
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates has approved the launch of the country's first dollar stablecoin USDU under the Payment Token Services Regulation regime. The token has already been introduced into circulation and can be used for settlements with digital assets in a regulated environment.
The issuer of USDU is Universal Digital, registered as a foreign provider of payment tokens. The management of issuance and reserves is conducted under the supervision of UAE regulators.
How the model works
USDU is backed by the US dollar at a 1:1 ratio. Reserves are held in secure accounts at Emirates NBD, Mashreq, and Mbank. This structure complies with the regulator's requirements for settlement digital assets and allows the stablecoin to be used in institutional operations.
According to the current regulations of the UAE, transactions with digital assets and derivatives must be conducted either in fiat or through registered payment tokens, which now include USDU.
Infrastructure and access
The global distributor of USDU is the infrastructure company Aquanow. It will provide institutional access to the stablecoin outside the UAE — in jurisdictions where it is permitted by law.
Universal Digital claims that the launch of USDU creates a foundation for scaling regulated on-chain settlements and developing payment infrastructure for digital assets.
Previously, in November 2025, the UAE conducted the first government transaction using the digital dirham as part of testing the national digital currency. The payment was completed on the mBridge platform in less than two minutes.