The UAE central bank plans to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for cross-border and domestic use as part of its newly launched financial infrastructure transformation (FIT) program. The FIT program aims to support the country's financial services sector by promoting digital transactions and making the UAE a competitive financial and digital payment hub.

The CBDC issuance is one of the first initiatives to be implemented, with the goal of addressing cross-border payment inefficiencies and driving innovation for domestic payments. The government also plans to launch a unified card payment platform and an instant payments platform during the first stage to facilitate e-commerce growth and support financial inclusion. The FIT program has nine initiatives in total, with plans for an e-Know Your Customer platform and an innovation hub to come in later stages.

On February 7, 2023, Dubai's Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) released "Full Market Product Regulations" that provide extensive guidance on virtual asset activities within the emirate. The laws prohibit the issuance and activities related to anonymity-enhanced cryptocurrencies, also known as privacy coins. On February 10, various UAE players responded to the new regulation. 

Sources:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/uae-central-bank-to-issue-cbdc-as-part-of-its-financial-transformation-program

https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/uae-central-bank-to-issue-cbdc-as-part-of-its-financial-transformation-program-3001604

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/uae-central-bank-issue-cbdc-110815317.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAFODDwJ6dtSTZMCPcBneYoOllfbrxPq0cDeB9tibgaFUn7bdbYTtNTE0VdyjKwxryWbEZo8-0TFrpv4Kgxvsb1pqLUBw3gZ3LnOhqCWWiT4T4aMFEmsPf60fsmYCmGqEu9QVlEtkUMAPU7IxzRcWup8F-g_QZIbtqj7O4tQ6FtyX

https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/02/13/uae-plans-to-issue-a-cbdc-to-promote-digital-payments/