PUSD has expanded to ADI Chain, adding a Shariah-compliant dollar stablecoin to a blockchain network built for institutional settlement in the Middle East. The move matters beyond one token listing. It ties a $2.3 billion stablecoin to Abu Dhabi’s regulated digital-asset buildout, a market structure that now includes central-bank-approved dirham stablecoin plans, updated ADGM fiat-referenced token rules, and a broader race to capture cross-border payment flows across the Gulf, Africa, and Asia.
PUSD joins an institutional settlement network in Abu Dhabi
PUSD’s deployment on ADI Chain was reported on April 23, 2026, with Cointelegraph stating that the token is moving onto a Layer 2 network focused on institutional settlement in the Middle East. The same report says PUSD has about $2.3 billion in circulation and is backed 1:1 by reserves held in Saudi riyals and UAE dirhams, both currencies that are pegged to the US dollar. Palm Finance’s own website separately confirms the $2.3 billion circulation figure and describes PUSD as fully reserved, with backing from US dollar deposits and US Treasury securities held with regulated custodians. That reserve description is notable because it introduces a disclosure nuance: public materials describe both Gulf-currency backing and dollar-and-Treasury reserve support, suggesting the project is framing stability through a combination of peg structure and reserve management rather than a simple single-asset model.
Palm Finance also says PUSD is the first stablecoin of its scale to achieve Shariah certification and that this opens access to Islamic finance markets representing more than $3 trillion in assets. Cointelegraph attributes the same more-than-$3 trillion market figure to the ADI Foundation announcement tied to the integration. That number is central to the story, but the more interesting angle is infrastructure fit. ADI Chain is not being marketed as a retail meme-coin venue. It is being positioned as a compliance-oriented settlement rail for institutions, governments, and regulated payment flows. In that context, adding a dollar-linked instrument next to a dirham-linked one gives the network a two-currency settlement narrative that many competitors only mentioned in passing.
Why this expansion matters more than a routine chain integration
Most token expansion stories are distribution stories. This one is also a market-structure story. Cointelegraph reports that ADI Chain is already the settlement layer for a dirham-backed stablecoin initiative tied to International Holding Company and First Abu Dhabi Bank. Official Abu Dhabi disclosures add the missing regulatory depth. A press release dated April 28, 2025 states that IHC, ADQ, and First Abu Dhabi Bank announced plans for a new dirham-backed stablecoin that would be fully regulated by the Central Bank of the UAE and issued by FAB, subject to regulatory approval. That release also says the stablecoin would operate on the ADI blockchain and notes that ADI Foundation already had strategic partnerships with governments in more than 20 countries.
Then came the next milestone. In a February 11, 2026 press release, IHC, Sirius International Holding, and FAB said the Central Bank of the UAE had approved the UAE dirham-backed stablecoin DDSC to go live on ADI Chain. The release describes DDSC as designed for payments, collections, high-value settlement, treasury operations, and trade and supply-chain flows. That is a very different use case from speculative crypto trading. It means PUSD is not entering an empty ecosystem. It is entering a chain that already has a state-aligned settlement thesis and a live regulated-dirham track.
That is the unique angle many quick write-ups missed: PUSD’s ADI Chain move is less about token availability and more about currency pairing on a compliance-native rail. If DDSC is the domestic and institutional dirham leg, PUSD can serve as the dollar-linked leg for treasury transfers, trade settlement, and cross-border corridors. Cointelegraph explicitly notes that the addition of PUSD introduces a second stablecoin to the network, allowing institutions to settle transactions using either a dollar-linked asset or a dirham-denominated token on the same infrastructure. It also says the network is expected to support settlement across corridors linking the Gulf, the Middle East, and parts of Africa.
The regulatory backdrop is doing heavy lifting
The UAE angle is not hype without policy. It is policy with infrastructure. ADGM’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority announced on October 31, 2025 that it had finalized a regulatory framework for activities involving fiat-referenced tokens, with fee-rule changes effective January 1, 2026. That matters because institutional adoption usually stalls when token issuance rules, custody standards, and permitted activities remain vague. In Abu Dhabi, the framework is becoming more explicit, not less.
At the federal level, the Central Bank of the UAE’s Payment Token Services Regulation created a dedicated regime for payment-token activity. Secondary legal summaries are not substitutes for the rulebook, but they consistently point to the same structure: licensing or registration is required for stablecoin-related payment activity in the UAE, and foreign issuers can participate through defined registration pathways. That helps explain why the market is splitting into two tracks. One track is locally regulated payment tokens such as dirham-backed instruments. The other is dollar-denominated tokens operating under local rules or recognized frameworks. Cointelegraph notes that in January 2026, Universal Digital launched USDU, describing it as the first dollar-denominated token approved for payment use within the UAE framework.
Put those pieces together and the competitive picture sharpens. ADI Chain now sits at the intersection of three forces: a central-bank-approved dirham stablecoin path, a finalized ADGM fiat-referenced token regime effective from January 1, 2026, and rising demand for Shariah-compliant digital dollars that can plug into institutional workflows. That is not just a crypto narrative. It is a regional payments narrative.
What the numbers say about the opportunity
There are at least six concrete figures that frame the scale of this move. First, PUSD’s reported circulation stands at $2.3 billion. Second, the Islamic finance market targeted by the token is described as more than $3 trillion in assets. Third, ADI Foundation said in April 2025 that it had strategic partnerships with governments in over 20 countries. Fourth, the dirham stablecoin initiative was first announced on April 28, 2025. Fifth, DDSC received Central Bank approval to go live on February 11, 2026. Sixth, ADGM’s fiat-referenced token framework changes took effect on January 1, 2026. Those dates show sequencing: policy first, infrastructure second, multi-token settlement design third.
One useful derived metric is the circulation-to-addressable-market ratio. Using the reported $2.3 billion PUSD circulation against the cited $3 trillion Islamic finance opportunity, PUSD’s current size equals roughly 0.077% of that addressable asset base. That is tiny. It shows the story is still early if the token can convert certification and regulatory alignment into actual institutional usage. Another metric is network stablecoin count: with PUSD joining DDSC on ADI Chain, the network now has at least two differentiated stablecoin rails, one dollar-linked and one dirham-linked. For enterprise settlement systems, that is more meaningful than raw token count because it supports currency choice inside one compliance-focused environment. Those are simple calculations, but they clarify why this launch could matter more than a standard multichain deployment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is PUSD?
PUSD is a stablecoin issued by Palm Azgar Finance. Public materials describe it as fully reserved and Shariah-certified. Palm Finance says it has $2.3 billion in circulation and is backed 1:1, while Cointelegraph reports reserves held in Saudi riyals and UAE dirhams pegged to the US dollar.
What is ADI Chain?
ADI Chain is a Layer 2 blockchain developed by the Abu Dhabi-based ADI Foundation. Official releases describe it as infrastructure for compliant, institutional-grade settlement and as the operating chain for the UAE dirham-backed stablecoin DDSC.
Why is this expansion important for the Middle East?
It brings a Shariah-compliant dollar-linked stablecoin onto a network already tied to a regulated dirham stablecoin initiative. That creates a stronger base for regional payments, treasury operations, and cross-border settlement across Gulf and adjacent markets.
Is the UAE building a formal stablecoin framework?
Yes. ADGM finalized a framework for fiat-referenced token activities in late 2025, with changes effective January 1, 2026, while the Central Bank of the UAE has a Payment Token Services Regulation governing payment-token activity.
How large is the market PUSD is targeting?
Palm Finance and reporting on the ADI Chain integration both cite Islamic finance markets representing more than $3 trillion in assets globally. Against that figure, PUSD’s reported $2.3 billion circulation remains small, leaving substantial room for growth if adoption follows.
Does this mean PUSD is regulated in the UAE?
The available sources clearly show ADI Chain’s role in the UAE’s regulated stablecoin buildout, but they do not, on their own, establish that PUSD itself is a UAE-issued or UAE-licensed payment token. What is verified is that PUSD has integrated with ADI Chain and that the UAE has active stablecoin rules and approved local projects.
Conclusion
PUSD’s expansion to ADI Chain is not just another chain deployment headline. It lands at a moment when Abu Dhabi is assembling the legal, banking, and blockchain layers needed for regulated stablecoin settlement. With a reported $2.3 billion in circulation, Shariah certification, and access to a network already linked to the approved DDSC dirham stablecoin, PUSD is stepping into a more strategic role. The real story is not only stablecoin growth in the Middle East. It is the emergence of a two-rail settlement model, dollar-linked and dirham-linked, inside a compliance-first regional infrastructure stack.
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