Instead of a dollar-pegged algorithmic stablecoin, the developers at Sonic Labs now plan to launch a “mathematically constrained numerical dirham,” according to the company’s head, Andre Cronje.

We will no longer be releasing a USD based algorithmic stable coin.

Completely unrelated, we will be releasing a mathematically bound numerical Dirham which is settled and denominated in USD, which is definitely not a USD based algorithmic stable coin. https://t.co/NlLsT5IqoE
— Andre Cronje (@AndreCronjeTech) March 28, 2025

According to him, the new product is “definitely not a dollar-based algorithmic stablecoin.”

The decision to change course was influenced by the draft U.S. STABLE Act, which proposes a two-year moratorium on launching new “endogenously collateralized” assets.

At the same time, the UAE government has announced plans to introduce a blockchain-based version of the national currency, the dirham, by the end of 2025. It remains unclear whether Sonic Labs developers are involved in this project.

Cronje initially announced plans for a dollar-based algorithmic stablecoin on March 22, when the project was still in the process of scaling and preparing for a full launch.

Earlier, journalists reported that Fidelity is planning to launch its own stablecoin.