Former MIT Alumnus Launches Dirham-Backed Stablecoin to Tackle High Inflation

A former alumnus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and executive at SoftBank has launched a new stablecoin backed by the United Arab Emirates' native currency, the Dirham. The goal of this stablecoin, called DRAM, is to provide exposure to assets linked to the Dirham for countries dealing with high inflation.

Introduction of DRAM Stablecoin

Akshay Naheta, founder and CEO of Distributed Technologies Research (DTR), recently announced the launch of DRAM stablecoin. It has been listed on popular decentralized finance protocols, Uniswap and PancakeSwap. The team at DTR has been developing this Dirham-backed stablecoin since October 2022, with Naheta relocating the company to Abu Dhabi, where he had initially co-founded DTR in 2019.

Ethereum ERC-20 Token

DRAM is an Ethereum ERC-20 token issued by DRAM Trust. The trust is governed by Hong Kong law, and an independent trustee, licensed and regulated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, approves token mints and burns. Currently, DTR cannot offer DRAM in Hong Kong or the UAE, but conversations are underway to provide token liquidity for listing on centralized exchanges outside of these jurisdictions.

Regulatory Compliance and Reserves

To meet regulatory standards, Dirham fiat reserves must be deposited before any DRAM tokens can be minted. These reserves are held by regulated financial institutions. The DRAM website provides smart contract addresses for Ethereum, BNB, and Arbitrum. At present, the ETH token contract has a max total supply of 2 million DRAM, the ARB contract has 499,999 DRAM, and the BNB contract has 2.5 million DRAM.

Distributed Technologies Research Background

In a background search, it was discovered that Distributed Technologies Research was initially launched in Switzerland four years ago. The foundation developed a decentralized payments system called Unit-e, which was created through partnerships and grants with prestigious academic institutions like Stanford, MIT, and the University of Illinois.

Expansion of DRAM Stablecoin

Akshay Naheta, while working at SoftBank, was involved in the founding of DTR. The DTR team's previous project, Unit-e, aimed to disrupt payments and create a highly efficient protocol with high throughput. The team behind the development of DRAM stablecoin consists of around 30 permanent staff and contractors. While DTR is not able to market DRAM in the UAE, they anticipate demand from companies in the region dealing with high inflation and currency challenges.

The UAE as a Cryptocurrency Hub

The United Arab Emirates is emerging as a hub for the cryptocurrency and Web3 space due to its favorable regulatory framework that fosters financial innovation and the adoption of digital assets. Major exchanges like Coinbase have expressed their plans to operate within the jurisdiction, while Binance is already operational in Dubai.