Universal has announced the expansion of its dollar-backed USDU stablecoin to Solana, extending its UAE-regulated issuance framework and 1:1 reserve backing to another blockchain for institutional settlement. According to the company's announcement, eligible participants will be able to hold and transfer USDU on Solana, using the network for dollar-denominated transactions around the clock. The integration will support transfers, digital asset settlement, and institutional treasury management across additional wallets, platforms and financial applications that support Solana. As reported by Universal, this expansion targets institutional trading settlement, tokenized real-world asset cash legs, and cross-border settlement through licensed providers, building on the network's established infrastructure for financial applications.
Under the terms described by Universal, USDU maintains 1:1 dollar reserves, with the issuer holding one dollar in reserves for each USDU token. The company also said independent attestations are published monthly, allowing participants to review reports covering the reserves. As reported by Universal, this transparency framework ensures institutional confidence in the stablecoin's backing structure. Juha Viitala, Senior Executive Officer at Universal, emphasized that "Our standards don't change from one network to the next. The same issuance, reserve and compliance framework applies" across all network deployments.
Universal said access remains focused on professional and institutional participants in the UAE and permitted international markets. According to the announcement, Aquanow, its global distributor, will connect eligible participants with the stablecoin through its institutional distribution infrastructure. Aquanow describes its customers and partners as banks, neobanks, brokerages and payment companies, with regional teams operating across North America, the Middle East, Europe and Asia. Aquanow's UAE business operates through Aquanow ME FZE, which is regulated by Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority for broker-dealer services, lending and borrowing, and management and investment services.
Universal said USDU is the first dollar-backed stablecoin registered with the Central Bank of the UAE as a Foreign Payment Token. According to the company's disclosures, the registration serves as the basis for its permitted use in digital asset-related payments within the country. For UAE transactions, Universal's disclosures state that USDU may be used to purchase digital assets and digital asset derivatives, with the issuer expressly excluding general payment purposes in mainland UAE, including domestic payments. Within Abu Dhabi Global Market, Universal Digital Intl Limited is separately regulated by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority to issue a Fiat-Referenced Token to Professional Clients only. The stablecoin is backed 1:1 by dollar reserves held with UAE banks, including Emirates NBD and Mashreq.
Solana's institutional appeal for financial applications combines fast transaction processing and low costs with an expanding range of development tools. According to Universal, "Solana has built an impressive ecosystem, with the speed, low cost and developer depth that institutional applications need." The network's momentum includes Visa's USDC settlement with Cross River Bank and Lead Bank announced in December 2025, demonstrating established financial infrastructure use. Developer participation has also expanded significantly, with Blockchain infrastructure provider Syndica identifying 3,830 new Solana developers in 2025, compared with 3,470 in 2024. The Solana Foundation added to this infrastructure in March 2026 with its Developer Platform, an API-based interface bringing together issuance, payments and supporting services to simplify financial product development.
