HashKey Pushes Stablecoin Trade Corridor Linking Middle East and Africa

The move comes as stablecoins gain traction across Africa, where businesses and consumers are increasingly turning to dollar-linked digital tokens to shield themselves from currency volatility and move money across borders more quickly. Stablecoins now account for roughly 43 percent of cryptocurrency transaction volume in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to industry data, while the region processed more than $205 billion in on-chain crypto transactions between mid-2024 and mid-2025.

A Dubai-licensed cryptocurrency exchange is partnering with blockchain and payments companies to test whether stablecoins can streamline trade and money transfers between the Middle East and Africa, a region where businesses often face high costs and lengthy delays when moving funds across borders.

HashKey MENA, a virtual asset exchange regulated by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, said it had signed an agreement with the Aptos Foundation and Daya, a pan-African payments platform, to pilot a business-to-business settlement corridor using stablecoins.

The initiative will allow companies to explore settling cross-border transactions through digital dollar-linked tokens rather than relying solely on conventional banking networks. The pilot will initially focus on transactions involving the Nigerian naira and other African currencies while also supporting traditional bank wires and SWIFT transfers.

The effort comes as stablecoins, cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a fixed value against assets such as the U.S. dollar, have become increasingly popular for international payments. Supporters argue that they can reduce settlement times and lower costs, particularly in regions where access to foreign currency and cross-border banking services remains fragmented.

Under the arrangement, HashKey MENA will provide regulated conversion between local currencies and stablecoins. Daya will handle payment infrastructure in African markets, including currency conversion and liquidity routing, while the Aptos Foundation will support execution of transactions on the Aptos blockchain network.

The companies say the pilot will operate within Dubai’s regulatory framework and is intended to test how stablecoins can be used in commercial trade settlements across multiple jurisdictions.

Paul Joe of Daya said the project addresses a gap that has slowed broader adoption of stablecoin-based payments across Africa.

“Africa is already a front-runner in stablecoin adoption. What’s been missing is the regulated infrastructure and scalable liquidity to connect that demand to the rest of the world. By joining HashKey’s Asia Connect network as the African node, with settlement on Aptos, we’re plugging into a network that already runs from Hong Kong to the Philippines to Vietnam to the UAE.”

The initiative also marks HashKey’s latest effort to expand what it calls its Asia Connect network, a series of stablecoin payment corridors that began with a Hong Kong-Philippines route launched in 2025. The company has since added partners in Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates and is now seeking to extend the network into Africa.

Advocates of stablecoin payments argue that such systems could help businesses move money more quickly across emerging markets, where traditional cross-border transfers can take several days and incur significant foreign-exchange costs. Regulators, however, continue to scrutinize the sector as governments seek to balance financial innovation with consumer protection and anti-money-laundering requirements.

The pilot is expected to test whether regulated digital asset infrastructure can provide a practical alternative for companies engaged in trade between African and Middle Eastern markets, a corridor where commercial ties have expanded rapidly in recent years.

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