UAE expects digital dirham rollout in Q4 2025

3 months ago

The United Arab Emirates expects its integer dirham cardinal slope integer currency to rotation retired successful the 4th fourth of 2025.

According to a study successful the Khaleej Times, Central Bank of the UAE Governor Khaled Mohamed Balama reportedly said that the blockchain-based currency could amended fiscal stableness and assistance combat fiscal crime. According to the report, the retail assemblage could expect the issuance of a integer dirham successful the past 4th of 2025.

“It [digital dirham] volition further alteration the improvement of innovative integer products, services, and caller concern models portion reducing outgo and expanding entree to planetary markets,” Balama reportedly said.

The study besides stated that the integer dirham and its carnal counterpart volition beryllium accepted arsenic a outgo method successful each outgo channels.

The quality comes arsenic the integer dirham received a rebrand. The archetypal missive of the dirham volition beryllium its planetary symbol, on with 2 horizontal lines representing the currency’s stability, inspired by the UAE flag.

The roadworthy to integer dirhams successful the UAE

In June 2024, the CBUAE approved a licensing framework for regulating stablecoins. In a gathering with the CBUAE committee of directors successful Abu Dhabi, UAE officials discussed the government’s fiscal infrastructure programme and approved the framework. The caller rules clarified the issuance, licensing and supervision of outgo tokens backed by the UAE dirham.

Following the framework’s approval, stablecoin issuer Tether announced its plans to motorboat a dirham-backed stablecoin with section partners Phoenix Group and Green Acorn Investments. The collaboration aims to found a fully-backed integer practice of the UAE dirham currency.

After the model approval, different players joined the contention to make a dirham-backed stablecoin. On Oct. 18, 2024, a institution called AED Stablecoin received in-principle approval for issuing a regulated dirham-pegged stablecoin successful the UAE.

On Nov. 1, The Open Network (TON) announced that Tether’s dirham-pegged stablecoin volition beryllium launched connected its blockchain network.

Stablecoins successful the UAE

Apart from dirham-backed stablecoins, US dollar and euro stablecoins person besides gained traction successful the country.

On Feb. 24, the Dubai Financial Services Authority, the autarkic regulator for the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), recognized Circle’s USDC and EURC arsenic the archetypal stablecoins nether its crypto token regime.

Meanwhile, a Ripple spokesperson antecedently told Cointelegraph that the institution is working to understand the country’s stablecoin requirements. The spokesperson said they are monitoring the developments intimately and that their RLUSD stablecoin is disposable successful the UAE.