DDSC, the UAE dirham stablecoin backed by IHC, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Sirius International Holding, has received a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) allowing it to be distributed via selected exchanges regulated by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). The step would extend the stablecoin beyond institutional settlement to retail and merchant payments, although no exchanges were named and the announcement notes the listings remain subject to meeting the NOC’s requirements.

The approval bridges two of the UAE’s regulatory regimes. Dirham-denominated payment tokens fall under the central bank’s Payment Token…