DDSC just went live as one of the UAE’s officially approved dirham backed stablecoins. In this episode of Wall Street to MENA, Raghda Ibraheem sits down with Husam Habannakeh, General Manager of DDSC Stablecoin, to unpack what that actually means for consumers, corporates, and the wider financial system.
Built by AHC International Holding and First Abu Dhabi Bank, DDSC runs on ADI Chain, the sovereign blockchain developed by the ADI Foundation, an MFTA member and DDSC’s parent company. Husam breaks down why launching a stablecoin takes institutions of this scale, what regulatory backing from the Central Bank of UAE means for trust and adoption, and how his experience leading digital assets at Mastercard across 80 countries is shaping DDSC’s roadmap.
The conversation also looks ahead: machine to machine payments for AI agents, DDSC’s role in the UAE’s open finance ecosystem, and the bank partnerships that will soon bring stablecoin spending to everyday consumers, from groceries to merchant checkout.
Topics covered:
- Introduction
- What DDSC is and who it’s for
- Why stablecoins need institutional scale
- Inside ADI Chain
- Lessons from 80 countries at Mastercard
- Why the UAE supports multiple dirham stablecoins
- AI agents and machine to machine payments
- DDSC and open finance
- When everyday consumers will feel the impact