Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) and EURC have become the first stablecoins to be approved under the Dubai Financial Services Authority’s (DFSA) crypto token regime, marking a significant milestone for the stablecoin issuer in the Middle East.
This recognition, announced on February 24, 2025, allows companies within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) to integrate these stablecoins into a wide array of digital asset applications, ranging from payments to treasury management.
Notably, the approval underscores Dubai’s growing role as a hub for cryptocurrency innovation and Circle’s aggressive push to expand its global footprint amid a surging stablecoin market.
In December 2024, Tether the main competitor to Circle was approved for regulated services in Abu Dhabi, making it the only other stablecoin firm to gain regulatory approval in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Circle ahead of pears in the DIFC
The DFSA’s nod to USDC and EURC follows a year of regulatory negotiations, positioning Circle ahead of competitors like Tether in the DIFC, a financial district established in 2004 that now hosts nearly 7,000 active companies, a 25% increase from 2023.
This free economic zone, serving the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia, permits only recognized crypto tokens for operational use.
With this approval, financial institutions in the DIFC can now leverage USDC and EURC for mainstream applications, enhancing the region’s digital asset ecosystem.
Circle’s Chief Strategy Officer, Dante Disparte, hailed the move as a validation of the company’s commitment to transparency and compliance, noting that it aligns with their mission to make digital currencies more accessible and interoperable for businesses worldwide.
Building on global compliance momentum
Circle’s success in Dubai builds on a series of regulatory victories in 2024 and 2025.
The company secured compliance with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations in mid-2024, followed by approvals in Canada and an Electronic Money Institution license from French authorities.
These achievements have fueled USDC’s adoption, particularly in Europe, where non-compliant rivals like Tether’s USDT have faced delistings from major exchanges such as Crypto.com and Kraken.
Over the recent past, Circle has been aggressively minting USDC, with its market capitalization rising from $45.6 billion on January 8 to $57.2 billion by February 24, a 23.4% increase.
On the Solana blockchain alone, Circle minted 8 billion USDC in 2025, including a recent 250 million addition, driven by booming DeFi activity and trading volumes.
Circle has also been expanding its ecosystem to solidify its position in the stablecoin market.
In January 2025, it acquired Hashnote, a tokenized real-world asset firm behind the $1.3 billion USYC token, bolstering its presence in the tokenized treasury space.
The company also recently launched Paymaster, enabling USDC payments for gas fees on Arbitrum and Base, and extended USDC to the Aptos blockchain, bringing its reach to 16 networks.
Despite this growth, USDC’s market dominance still trails that of Tether’s USDT which stands at around 63%.
However, USDC has seen a 16% supply increase over the past month, outpacing USDT’s 2.5% supply increase.
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