Are stablecoins just another payment rail, or are they reshaping money itself? In this Fintech TV interview, Bryan Stirewalt — Executive Advisor at Grant Thornton UAE and Independent Non-Executive Chairman of Julius Baer Middle East — breaks down what’s really happening in the UAE’s stablecoin and digital asset space.
Topics covered:
- What a stablecoin actually is — and how it differs from crypto like Bitcoin
- Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC), and what Tether’s new MOU with the DMCC means for the UAE
- The UAE’s new federal law bringing stablecoins and DeFi under regulation — with penalties of up to AED 1 billion
- AECoin, the UAE’s own dirham-backed stablecoin, and how close it is to everyday use
- How stablecoins could cut costs and speed up remittances for the UAE’s millions of expat workers
- Regulation vs. innovation — Bryan’s take on “the right size of regulation”
- How the UAE’s approach compares to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and CBDC strategy
- Stablecoins vs. tokenized deposits, and where the market is headed over the next five years
- What it takes for a stablecoin to gain regulatory recognition in the UAE
Bryan also speaks to the work of the MENA FinTech Association in bringing regulators, builders, investors, and academics together to shape balanced, “right-sized” regulation for the region.