Abu Dhabi-based ADI Chain has secured a $50 million strategic investment to expand its blockchain infrastructure for governments, financial institutions and enterprises.
The capital will be allocated across network development, ecosystem expansion, developer incentives and integrations with institutional users. ADI Foundation, the organization behind the network, said the investment would help ADI Chain accommodate increased activity as more financial and public-sector applications move from development into live deployment.
Investment Targets Institutional Deployment
ADI Chain is an institutional Layer-2 blockchain developed by the Abu Dhabi-based ADI Foundation. The network is designed to support regulated applications involving payments, settlement, stablecoins, tokenized assets and government digital infrastructure.
Rather than competing primarily for consumer cryptocurrency activity, ADI Chain is positioning itself as infrastructure for organizations that require governance controls, regulatory compliance and predictable transaction capacity. Its target users include banks, government bodies and large companies seeking to move financial processes on-chain without relying solely on public, permissionless systems.
ADI Foundation CEO Andrey Lazorenko said: “Infrastructure only becomes meaningful when it is used. Over the past year we have focused relentlessly on building institutional partnerships, securing regulatory alignment and developing real-world applications. Today, those efforts are becoming operational. This investment enables us to scale that momentum globally as governments, enterprises and financial institutions increasingly require trusted blockchain infrastructure capable of supporting mission-critical applications."
DDSC Strengthens ADI Chain
One of the network’s most significant live applications is DDSC, a payment token pegged 1:1 to the UAE dirham. DDSC was developed through a collaboration involving International Holding Company, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Sirius International Holding, and operates on ADI Chain.
The Central Bank of the UAE approved DDSC to go live in February 2026. The official announcement described DDSC as a regulated dirham-backed stablecoin intended for institutional payments, settlement, treasury management and trade-related financial flows. It also identified ADI Foundation as an Abu Dhabi-based organization and ADI Chain as the infrastructure supporting the token.
A later Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange disclosure reported that International Holding Company had executed a $30 million transaction (AED 110 million) using DDSC on ADI Chain. The transaction provided a publicly documented example of institutional-scale activity on the network.
By early July, more than $40.8 million (AED 150 million) had reportedly been transacted through DDSC. The token had received a Central Bank of the UAE no-objection certificate to partner with selected exchange platforms regulated by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.
ADI Builds Around Partnerships and Utility
ADI Foundation has also pursued integrations intended to make the network more suitable for regulated digital assets. In March, it announced a partnership with blockchain infrastructure provider Chainlink covering stablecoin and tokenization applications across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
The collaboration is focused on infrastructure used to connect blockchain applications with external data, other networks and traditional financial systems.
Utility for the ADI token will depend on whether these applications produce sustained transaction demand rather than isolated launches or promotional activity. The investment gives ADI Foundation additional resources to attract developers and institutions, but the absence of investor information makes it difficult to assess whether the funding also brings strategic distribution, regulatory expertise or access to new markets.
Investment Supports Next Stage of Growth
ADI Chain’s base in Abu Dhabi and its relationships with major UAE institutions position the network within one of the region’s fastest-growing digital-finance ecosystems. Its involvement in DDSC has also given the project a practical role in the development of regulated blockchain-based payments.
The network has worked with organizations including International Holding Company and Sirius International Holding. These relationships could help ADI Chain expand its reach among financial institutions, enterprises and public-sector users seeking regulated digital infrastructure.
The new capital is expected to support wider adoption across the ecosystem. Network activity, institutional integrations, developer participation and stablecoin usage will be among the key indicators of how effectively the investment translates into long-term growth.
