Today, I’m sharing an ETH Layer 2 project with an Abu Dhabi, UAE background called ADI Chain. I started paying attention to this chain because I saw news a few days ago saying that ADI’s prediction market has become a top partner of FIFA, with the reported partnership valued at $150 million. You know, sports prediction markets are tough to crack, especially with FIFA. It’s not just about money; you need the right connections too. So, I decided to dig deeper and see what’s behind ADI Chain. First off, ADI Chain recently announced a $50M funding round, but they didn’t disclose who the investors are. After doing some digging, I found that the team behind ADI Chain is Sirius International Holding, which is a subsidiary of IHC. Now, IHC is a big deal in the Middle East, with a market cap of $200 billion. You can basically think of it as the capital of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family. Public records show that IHC’s chairman is the brother of UAE President MBZ, and its largest shareholder is Abu Dhabi’s Royal Group. So, many of the assets on ADI Chain are either tied to royal family members or have policy green lights. For example, you’ll find the first dirham-backed stablecoin, DDSC, which is approved by the UAE Central Bank and exclusively settled on ADI Chain. There’s also PUSD, which is surprisingly a “Sharia-compliant” stablecoin with a Saudi background, also on ADI Chain. PS: Sharia compliance means no interest is allowed, but in practice, they probably distribute interest disguised as profits to holders. Another example is the massive alliance formed recently with Open Standard/OUSD, which has already included ADI in the coalition. Additionally, ADI Chain hosts services like BNY’s custody business, Settlemint’s digital securities, and more. As for the technical architecture, it’s built on the ZKsync framework, using ETH as DA, making it a strict Layer 2. ADI itself serves as the GAS token. One thing to note is that ADI hasn’t gone through traditional private or public fundraising rounds, so its circulating supply is currently limited. However, given its strong background, its FDV is quite significant. In terms of market cap alone, ADI has already surpassed Arb, OP, and even its technical framework ZKsync, ranking as the second-largest ETH Layer 2 by market cap, just behind MNT.