A regulated infrastructure for exchanging AE Coin and USD Universal (USDU) stablecoins, pegged to the UAE dirham and the U.S. dollar respectively, will be launched in the UAE.
Universal Digital, the issuer of the USDU dollar-pegged stablecoin, announced a strategic partnership with AED Stablecoin, the issuer of the dirham-pegged AE Coin stablecoin, to create a regulated conversion mechanism for digital assets based on the UAE dirham (AED) and the U.S. dollar (USD) under the UAE regulatory framework.
The new system will enable automatic and near-instant conversion of USDU into AE Coin. The solution is primarily aimed at institutional settlements, digital asset transactions, liquidity management, and treasury operations.
The exchange infrastructure will be provided by Al Maryah Community Bank (MBANK). The project also involves custodian Changer.ae and broker-dealer Aquanow, both licensed participants in the UAE digital asset market. Through their infrastructure, institutional clients and other users will gain initial access to conversions between USDU and AE Coin.
USDU became the first U.S. dollar stablecoin approved by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE). The asset is licensed by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) under the Payment Token Services Regulation (PTSR) framework of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the UAE’s international financial center. AE Coin, in turn, is the first dirham-pegged stablecoin to receive a CBUAE license.
Mohammed Wassim Khayata, CEO of Al Maryah Community Bank, stated that the new infrastructure is expected to become the foundation for scalable digital settlements and the modernization of cross-border financial flows. Juha Viitala, Senior Executive Officer at Universal Digital, noted that automating exchanges between USDU and AE Coin will reduce costs and accelerate transactions between local and international markets. AED Stablecoin CEO Ramez Rafeek added that the initiative expands real-world financial use cases for stablecoins while reinforcing the UAE’s leadership in payment innovation.
The partners are also placing special emphasis on the development of digital trade finance. The companies plan to integrate with fintech platforms specializing in international trade in order to use stablecoins for settlements and liquidity management in cross-border transactions.
Moreover, the project expands the MBANK ecosystem. Previously, the bank’s infrastructure enabled crypto-to-digital-dirham conversion through the following flow: crypto-asset → AE Coin → AEC Wallet. The ecosystem is now being enhanced with a regulated settlement channel between the U.S. dollar and the dirham through the USDU → AE Coin conversion mechanism.
At the end of 2025, e&, a leading UAE telecommunications and technology group, integrated AE Coin into its infrastructure, allowing millions of users to pay for mobile and home services, top up balances, and conduct digital transactions using the stablecoin.
