The move comes as Hong Kong and the Emirates deepen financial ties, giving a newly licensed digital currency an early test in an established trade corridor. 

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Hong Kong's first regulated Hong Kong dollar stablecoin is heading to the Gulf. Six days after HKDAP entered its institutional rollout, HashKey Exchange said it plans to use the token in cross border trade transactions with the United Arab Emirates and the wider Middle East. Trade between Hong Kong and the UAE reached $48.95 billion in 2025, according to figures cited by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, making the Emirates Hong Kong's largest trading partner in the Middle East. The size of that existing trade gives the new stablecoin an immediate commercial setting as HashKey looks beyond its initial Hong Kong launch. 

The move comes shortly after HKDAP began its first institutional rollout on August 12. Anchorpoint Financial made the token available through authorised distributors to institutions, corporate users and professional investors, marking an early step for Hong Kong's stablecoin regime, which came into force last year. HashKey joined as an authorised distributor and completed its first minting and redemption transaction as the rollout began. 

The stablecoin has already moved beyond the initial distribution stage. On August 14, HashKey and YF Life Insurance International completed a transaction using real funds as the insurer explored the use of HKDAP for insurance premium payments. YF Life said any wider introduction would remain subject to regulatory requirements and its implementation plans. The transaction gives the launch a more concrete dimension, putting the token into a payment that businesses already make through established financial channels. 

The Gulf opportunity takes that one step further. HashKey plans to explore the token in trade between Hong Kong and the UAE, while its MENA business can support conversion between HKDAP, US dollars and dirhams where needed. 

Why the UAE Matters 

The UAE is an obvious market to watch because Hong Kong already has a substantial commercial relationship with the country, while the Emirates have built a growing digital asset market of their own. That gives the initiative a more credible starting point than launching a new payment instrument into a market with little existing trade. 

For HashKey, the opportunity is less about replacing the banking system than finding transactions where the token makes sense. Insurance provides one early example. Trade is potentially much larger, but it will also demand wider acceptance from companies on both sides of the corridor. 

The next phase will be more telling than the launch itself. The first transaction shows that the stablecoin can be used in an existing financial service, while the UAE gives it a much larger commercial setting to develop. What matters now is whether businesses continue using it once the initial rollout loses its novelty. If they do, the token could begin to find a more practical role in how companies in Hong Kong and the Gulf move money.  

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