UAE Greenlights USDU as First USD-Backed Stablecoin for Regulated Digital-Asset Settlement

On 29 January 2026, the United Arab Emirates approved USDU as the first USD-backed stablecoin for regulated digital-asset and derivatives settlement, issued by Universal Digital Intl Limited under the Central Bank's Payment Token Services Regulation. The token is currently the only Foreign Payment Token registered in the country, fully backed 1:1 with reserves held onshore at major banks such as Emirates NBD and Mashreq, and is designed for both domestic and permitted cross-border digital-asset transactions.