Joining me is Husam Habannakeh, General Manager of DDSC Stablecoin. Husam, welcome to Wall Street to Mena.
Thank you so much. Thank you for having us.
DDSC just went live as one of the UAE's officially approved dirham-backed stablecoins. In plain terms, what is it actually for?
A stablecoin is a form of digital money. It is for all use cases where money is used — by consumers, corporates, or for financial transactions. Anywhere you would normally use dirhams, you can use DDSC as well.
This was built by AHC International Holding and First Abu Dhabi Bank. Why does it take institutions of that scale to launch a stablecoin?
Stablecoin is a capital-intensive business. The partners behind and backing this joint venture represent trust, scale, and excellence in execution. You need all three to build and sustain a successful stablecoin in the market. There are a number of stablecoins around the globe, but not all of them have what we have here — an enabling regulatory foundation supported by the Central Bank of UAE and other government entities, alongside the trust and scale that our shareholders bring.
DDSC runs on ADI Chain. What does that mean for the everyday user?
ADI Chain is a blockchain based in Abu Dhabi, developed by the ADI Foundation, with a focus on security, resilience, and sovereignty. These are critical factors for any successful and sustainable blockchain application. A stablecoin like DDSC is digital money that operates on a blockchain, and we chose ADI Chain for exactly those reasons.
You previously led digital assets at Mastercard across Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa — roughly 80 countries. How does that experience shape what you're building now?
It gave me a wide view of how different economic and market factors affect stablecoin use cases across very different contexts. In countries suffering from high inflation, the primary use case for stablecoins is a hedge against that inflation. In countries where correspondent banking is inefficient, stablecoins help growing businesses move money faster and unlock financial opportunities. That breadth of experience is directly informing how we are thinking about DDSC's roadmap.
DDSC is not the only UAE-approved dirham stablecoin. Why does the country need more than one?
Every market has multiple use cases — just as we have multiple telecom companies and multiple ride-hailing platforms. Different stablecoins will go after different market segments. We also anticipate that over time they will become more interoperable and standardised. For now, DDSC is targeting a wide range of use cases — from domestic retail to corporate payments to treasury management, and in the future cross-border as well.
DDSC is also designed for machine-to-machine payments using AI agents. Are we really that close to AI making payments on our behalf?
Technology is evolving faster than ever. In the past few months, AI has moved faster than it did in the past few years. Those AI agents will need to make payments — likely micropayments — to settle or pay for certain services. The ecosystem, from technology companies to financial institutions, is already developing protocols to enable those micropayments. A stablecoin like DDSC will adopt those protocols and technologies to fulfil that role.
You also worked closely with the Central Bank of UAE on its open banking initiatives. How does DDSC fit into that broader national picture?
Open finance aims to unlock all financial data and services resulting from the interaction between consumers, businesses, and financial institutions. Currently that data sits with financial institutions, preventing users and corporates from accessing it through third-party applications. Open finance standards change that — enabling a single view of all accounts in one application, or a company to manage its full treasury in one place. As a stablecoin issuer under the payment token regulatory framework, we are also classified as a financial institution. We anticipate that in the future, the data resulting from DDSC transactions will also be made available within that open finance ecosystem.
For an everyday person in the UAE buying coffee, groceries, making regular payments — when does any of this actually hit home?
Very soon. A stablecoin today is primarily solving for corporate and cross-border demand. But we have decided we want to make it relevant for everyday use. We are partnering with the largest acceptance networks to explore enabling merchant acceptance — meaning a stablecoin holder will be able to spend directly at merchant locations. We are also enabling consumers to access DDSC within their existing banking apps. We are in discussions with a number of financial institutions to make stablecoin accessible for all consumers.
Thank you so much, Husam Habannakeh, General Manager of DDSC Stablecoin. Thank you for joining us today.
Thank you for hosting us.
