China’s tech giants, JD.com and Ant International, the international arm of Alibaba Group’s Ant Group, are taking bold steps into digital currency innovation – but with a twist. Instead of crypto speculation, JD.com and Ant Group are lobbying for state-sanctioned Yuan-pegged stablecoins to compete with the rapidly expanding global influence of U.S. dollar–denominated stablecoins like USDT and USDC.
REPORT | Stablecoins Have Become Crypto’s Killer App Amid Blockchain Scaling Improvements, Says New @a16zcrypto Report
Stablecoins have entered the same conversation as entrenched payment services as VISA, PayPal, ACH, and Fedwirehttps://t.co/hwXCV1VYAh pic.twitter.com/OXHtvAIf2E
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) November 18, 2024
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TL;DR
What’s happening: JD.com and Ant Group are lobbying for CNH stablecoins to challenge dollar stablecoins’ dominance in global payments.
Why it matters: Dollar-pegged stablecoins now underpin much of global crypto and are leaking into trade and payments.
What’s next: Hong Kong’s stablecoin license regime starts August 1 2025. China’s tech giants are lining up to shape this new phase of global currency competition.
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Why Now? The Dollar Stablecoin Surge
The global market for stablecoins has ballooned to over $200 billion, with more than 90% of that value tied to the U.S. dollar. These tokens have become indispensable to crypto markets – but increasingly, they’re being used in broader financial systems, including:
Cross-border trade by emerging market exporters
Remittances for migrant workers
DeFi lending and payments, bypassing traditional financial rails
On-chain treasury and settlement by fintechs and DAOs
STABLECOINS | New Research Reveals Surprising Trends in Real-World Stablecoin Payments – BitKE https://t.co/2DahkV1p4y
— Sanjeev Rana (@Rana29061989) June 25, 2025
For Chinese exporters and digital commerce platforms, dollar stablecoins have become the default – even inside China’s tightly regulated financial system. Many suppliers now prefer being paid in USDT due to its speed, global liquidity, and ease of use, especially in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
[TECH] STABLECOINS | Private Firms in Kenya Turn to Stablecoins to Pay Foreign Suppliers, 49% Use USDT, Says IMF: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revealed that many Kenyan firms are now using crypt.. https://t.co/iZWzG1PM4Y via @BitcoinKE
— Top Kenyan Blogs (@Blogs_Kenya) January 13, 2025
This growing dependence on U.S.-backed digital cash has triggered alarm among Chinese regulators and economists.
“If Chinese companies start relying on dollar stablecoins to settle international trade, that erodes the Yuan’s role and deepens dollar hegemony – just through new rails,” said one policy analyst familiar with the discussions.
STABLECOINS | Chinese Warns on Potential of #Stablecoins to Consolidate Dollar Hegemony
One approach offered is China to broaden its influence by introducing ‘global application scenarios’ through Chinese platforms.
Learn more: https://t.co/2EWv3H59HH pic.twitter.com/8k8oCXA7Tp
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) April 8, 2025
The Chinese Response: Offshore CNH Stablecoins
To counter this shift, JD.com and Ant Group have reportedly lobbied the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) to approve offshore Yuan (CNH)-pegged stablecoins. These would be launched first in Hong Kong – under a new stablecoin licensing regime that takes effect on August 1 2025 – and potentially rolled out across China’s free trade zones later.
Key motivations for this move are:
Reclaiming regional influence over cross-border payments
Reducing reliance on SWIFT and USD in Asia-facing trade routes
Strengthening the Yuan’s status as an international reserve and settlement currency
JD.com is reportedly focused on supply chain finance use cases, while Ant Group is eyeing global payment rails via Alipay+. Both are also exploring licenses in Singapore and Luxembourg to widen the regulatory scope for these stablecoins.
GLOBAL | The Chinese Yuan is the 4th Most Popular Currency for International Transactions as of July 2024
In 2023, #Yuan cross-border receipts and payments totaled 52.3 trillion Yuan ($7.2 trillion), an increase of 24.2% year-on-year.https://t.co/D7pKu51Lc7 pic.twitter.com/uvYicYRwku
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) September 3, 2024
Why Not the Digital Yuan?
The e-CNY, China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), is already live in pilot zones – but it remains domestic-only, limited by capital controls and geopolitical hesitance abroad.
Yuan-based stablecoins – especially offshore ones – could provide a more flexible, market-driven alternative. Unlike the e-CNY, they could be programmable, interoperable with DeFi, and used in cross-border trade.
Stablecoin Math: Profit + Policy
While the public narrative centers on innovation and inclusion, the business case is compelling:
Net interest income: Firms earn yield on the fiat reserves backing the stablecoins.
Transaction fees: Cross-border and B2B payments carry monetizable margins.
Liquidity moat: First-mover stablecoins can dominate trading pairs and payment corridors.
For regulators, these stablecoins also offer real-time traceability and AML control – key advantages over crypto-native tokens.
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The first quarter of 2025 also marked Tether’s debut under regulatory oversight in El Salvador.https://t.co/yBR5yoItb7 $USDT @Tether_to pic.twitter.com/HvQFFHCsZ5
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) May 2, 2025
The Bigger Picture
Geopolitics of money: As the U.S. uses dollar-based finance as a tool of foreign policy, alternative digital currencies are gaining appeal among emerging markets.
Africa and Southeast Asia: These regions, where Chinese firms have deep investment and infrastructure stakes, are also hotbeds for dollar stablecoin usage – offering fertile ground for yuan-alternatives.
Regulatory arbitrage: With MiCA in Europe and new FRS licenses in Hong Kong, we are entering an era where compliant stablecoins could become central to global finance – offering China a second chance at setting the rules of the game.
OPINION | Just Like M-PESA, #Stablecoins’ Real Value Isn’t Speed or Cost – It’s Open Access #Stablecoins are following the same path as mobile money. While they operate on the blockchain, their mission is the same: to provide access . . .https://t.co/lRONQMg3Iu @SafaricomPLC pic.twitter.com/Bvs7ioLl6i
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) June 12, 2025
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