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Dirham-Backed Stablecoin DDSC Enters Live Phase In UAE
Central Bank approval moves the dirham-backed token into deployment, targeting regulated payments and settlement flows.
The UAE has cleared the launch of DDSC, a dirham-backed stablecoin now entering live operation after approval from the Central Bank. The move pushes the project beyond its pilot phase and into the country’s regulated financial system.
The token is backed by a consortium led by IHC, Sirius International Holding and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), framing it as an institutional instrument rather than a consumer crypto product. DDSC was first announced in April 2025, but regulatory clearance now allows deployment and integration across approved channels.
DDSC runs on ADI Chain, a Layer 2 blockchain built by the Abu Dhabi-based ADI Foundation. The infrastructure is designed for governance and performance requirements expected by large institutions, linking blockchain settlement with existing compliance and oversight frameworks.
The focus is practical, targeting treasury settlements, high-value payments, trade and supply-chain transactions, and programmable financial flows for regulated entities. FAB plans to offer access to the token through approved platforms for its clients, keeping the rollout inside controlled banking environments.
“DDSC marks a defining milestone in the UAE’s digital finance journey,” said Syed Basar Shueb, CEO of IHC. “With the Central Bank’s approval and our transition into live operation, we are delivering trusted, institutional-grade infrastructure that strengthens resilience, accelerates innovation, and expands what is possible in regulated digital payments”.
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FAB says the project reflects how stablecoins can sit within traditional finance when risk controls are built in from the outset. “This milestone underscores that stablecoins can be integrated responsibly into the financial system when built to meet rigorous regulatory and risk requirements,” said Futoon Hamdan AlMazrouei, Group Head of Personal, Business, Wealth and Privileged Client Banking Group at FAB.
The launch reinforces the UAE’s strategy of pushing digital finance through regulation instead of open-ended crypto experimentation. Stablecoins in this model are positioned less as trading assets and more as programmable extensions of national currency, aimed at institutional scale and government use cases.
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Max Fashion Brings AI Virtual Try-Ons To Gulf Online Shoppers
Landmark Group’s value fashion brand is using Google Cloud’s generative AI to tackle the returns problem that has dogged ecommerce since its beginning.
Buying clothes online has always involved a gamble. A garment that looks right on a model may hang differently on the person ordering it, and the result is a cycle of returns that costs retailers money and customers patience. Max Fashion, part of Dubai-based Landmark Group, is betting that generative AI can improve the experience.
The brand has launched what it describes as one of the region’s first virtual try-on experiences, built on Google Cloud’s Virtual Try-On API and generative AI vision models delivered through the Gemini Enterprise platform. Starting in the UAE, shoppers browsing Max’s digital platforms can see realistic previews of how garments drape, fit and move across different body types before committing to a purchase.
For many online shoppers, uncertainty is the single biggest barrier between scrolling and buying. “It helps address real purchase barriers, particularly around fit and confidence, while allowing us to create a richer and more engaging shopping journey,” explained Hani Weiss, chief executive officer of Max Fashion, who framed the rollout as part of the brand’s ambition to make fashion more accessible.
Bala Subramaniam, senior vice president and head of omnichannel at Max, seemed even more enthusiastic about the technology: “For the first time, a customer browsing on their phone has the same confidence as one standing in our fitting room”.
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Whether AI previews can genuinely match a fitting room remains to be proven at scale. The technology’s value will depend on how accurately it renders fabric and fit across the full range of bodies that shop at a value fashion brand, and on whether shoppers trust what they see enough to change their behavior.
For Google Cloud, the deployment is also a statement about where regional retail is heading. “AI-driven personalization is no longer a luxury, it is a core business imperative for forward-thinking retailers,” says Ziad Jammal, general manager for Google Cloud UAE, Levant and North Africa. If the returns data eventually backs that up, the rest of the region’s retailers will be watching closely.
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