Abu Dhabi company launches first UAE-registered US dollar stablecoin

Abu Dhabi’s Universal Digital has launched USDU, the first US dollar‑backed stablecoin registered by the UAE central bank under its Payment Token Services Regulation.

Abu Dhabi-based Universal Digital has launched USDU, the first US dollar‑backed stablecoin to be registered by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) as a Foreign Payment Token under the Payment Token Services Regulation (PTSR), the company said.

According to a release shared with Cointelegraph, the registration makes Universal the UAE’s first Foreign Payment Token Issuer and creates a clear, regulated US dollar‑denominated settlement option for digital assets in the UAE.

Juha Viitala, a senior executive officer of Universal, told Cointelegraph that the PTSR had allowed a transition period for payment token issuers to become PTSR-compliant and that, among all the USD stablecoins, USDU was the first to obtain such registration.