Dr. Bhaskar Dasgupta, Chairman, Middle East Stablecoin Association
Navigating an Evolving Financial Zoo
Examining how Hong Kong’s first stablecoin issuers are entering the market reveals two distinct strategies, but looking at this landscape from the UAE shows a far more complex picture. We are no longer discussing stablecoins in isolation, we are witnessing the arrival of diverse digital monetary instruments including fiat-backed stablecoins, AED payment tokens, tokenised bank deposits, tokenised money-market funds, CBDCs, and utility tokens. Each carries different legal claims, backing assets, and redemption mechanisms that alter how liability operates under issuer distress.
Solving Interoperability for Seamless Corporate Liquidity
The core challenge for the Middle East is determining how these various forms of digital money communicate. A corporate treasurer should be able to receive one form of regulated digital money, hold another, move liquidity into tokenised money-market instruments, pay suppliers through distinct rails, and settle cross-border transactions without needing to manage the underlying mechanics. Rather than debating which single stablecoin wins, the focus must shift to interoperability, liquidity, custody, and legal hierarchies within this emerging monetary stack.
Beyond the Single Stablecoin: Designing the UAE’s Digital Monetary Stack
Dr. Bhaskar Dasgupta, Chairman, Middle East Stablecoin Association
Navigating an Evolving Financial Zoo
Examining how Hong Kong’s first stablecoin issuers are entering the market reveals two distinct strategies, but looking at this landscape from the UAE shows a far more complex picture. We are no longer discussing stablecoins in isolation, we are witnessing the arrival of diverse digital monetary instruments including fiat-backed stablecoins, AED payment tokens, tokenised bank deposits, tokenised money-market funds, CBDCs, and utility tokens. Each carries different legal claims, backing assets, and redemption mechanisms that alter how liability operates under issuer distress.
Solving Interoperability for Seamless Corporate Liquidity
The core challenge for the Middle East is determining how these various forms of digital money communicate. A corporate treasurer should be able to receive one form of regulated digital money, hold another, move liquidity into tokenised money-market instruments, pay suppliers through distinct rails, and settle cross-border transactions without needing to manage the underlying mechanics. Rather than debating which single stablecoin wins, the focus must shift to interoperability, liquidity, custody, and legal hierarchies within this emerging monetary stack.