Today's Edition
DUBAI (ALETIHAD)
Liv, Emirates NBD’s digital bank, has partnered with Universal Digital and Aquanow to introduce USDU, a US dollar-backed stablecoin registered with the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), to its banking app.
The companies described the move as the first integration of a CBUAE-registered dollar-backed stablecoin into a UAE digital banking platform. It allows Liv customers to trade USDU in the same app they use for everyday banking. Liv launched crypto trading through Liv X in 2025.
Universal issues USDU and is registered with the central bank as a foreign payment token issuer under its Payment Token Services Regulation. According to the release, each USDU token is backed by one US dollar held in reserve with UAE banks. The reserves are verified through publicly available monthly attestations.
USDU is designed for digital asset settlement. Universal said the token is not intended as a general-purpose means of payment in the UAE.
Aquanow provides the liquidity and infrastructure for both USDU distribution and Liv X crypto trading. Its UAE entity is licensed by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority to provide broker-dealer services, among other activities.
“By integrating the CBUAE-registered USDU stablecoin into the Liv ecosystem, we are not only expanding our digital asset capabilities, but also offering our customers a secure, transparent and regulated bridge to digital assets within their everyday banking app,” said Rohit Garg, Group Head of Retail Products and Chief Digital Officer of Retail Banking and Wealth Management at Emirates NBD.
“USDU was built to bring transparent, USD-backed settlement into UAE regulatory frameworks,” said Juha Viitala, Senior Executive Officer at Universal.
To mark the launch, Liv is offering customers zero-fee crypto trading for 90 days.
