The dramatic scene of Liu Qiangdong delivering food on an electric bike seems unrelated to JD.com's low-key layout of stablecoins in Hong Kong, but in fact, it is a closely connected 'strategic plan'. In this business war, food delivery is the open attack, and stablecoins are the hidden arrows. JD.com is using a combination of 'high-frequency traffic entrance + cross-border financial infrastructure' to carve out a bloody path amid the siege of giants.
Behind Liu Qiangdong's rider uniforms lies JD.com's fatal trump card for the ultimate outcome of instant retail:
High-frequency traffic entrance: With over 300 million daily active users in food delivery, JD.com tears open the monopoly gap of Meituan and Ele.me with '0 commission + quality', guiding users from 'ordering food' to high-profit products such as 3C digital goods, achieving a consumption loop of 'high frequency leading to low frequency'.
Capacity arms race: JD.com uses 'five insurances and one fund + high unit price' to poach Meituan riders, with 1.3 million Dada riders engaging in a 'lightning war' with Meituan for the 'time sovereignty' of 30-minute deliveries.
Value system dimensionality attack: Liu Qiangdong eats hot pot with riders and issues open letters criticizing algorithmic exploitation, directly addressing the pain points of Meituan's social security controversy, upgrading the business war to a 'battle for public sentiment'.
(Meituan's market value evaporated by 30 billion overnight, JD.com's food delivery orders surged by 47% within 72 hours of launch)
JD.com issues the HKD stablecoin JDG in Hong Kong, which on the surface is an innovation in cross-border payments, but in reality, it is a triple-pronged approach:
Avoiding the domestic regulatory high voltage line: Mainland China strictly guards against cryptocurrencies, making Hong Kong the only export. JD.com uses sandbox testing to issue tokens, avoiding policy risks.
Opening up overseas capital channels: Achieving free cross-border capital flow through stablecoins to fund JD.com's globalization, and it may even become a financing channel for Chinese concept stocks.
Reconstructing supply chain finance: Using blockchain technology to achieve instant payment for goods, solving the pain points of traditional trade payment terms. JD.com's global supply chain speeds up, saving hundreds of millions in exchange rate costs annually.
(JD.com plans to integrate stablecoins into 50% of cross-border transactions within three years, targeting SWIFT's hegemony)
These two major actions are not isolated but are mutually reinforcing:
Data fuel: Food delivery accumulates hundreds of millions of user payment habits, providing application scenarios for stablecoins;
Financial leverage: Stablecoins lower cross-border payment costs, supporting global expansion of food delivery;
Ecological closed loop: From 'delivering food' to 'delivering everything', JD.com builds a business operating system for the Web3 era with 'instant retail + digital currency'.
(Liu Qiangdong's internal speech leaked: 'In the future, 50% of JD.com's profits will come from financial technology')
JD.com appears aggressive, but in reality, there are crises lurking:
Food delivery battlefield: Burning 50 million daily in subsidies, with annual losses likely exceeding 10 billion, while Meituan's cash reserves are over three times those of JD.com;
Stablecoin gamble: Uncertainty in Hong Kong regulations, overwhelming competition from USDT, and pressure from digital yuan policies, with three swords hanging high;
Time window: Douyin's lightning supermarket has entered instant retail, leaving JD.com less than 3 years to break through.
The electric vehicle wheels of Liu Qiangdong and the blockchain ledger turn together. If this gamble succeeds, JD.com will transform into a 'Walmart + Ant Group of the digital age'; if it fails, it may become a tragic footnote in the wave of internet transformation. However, this battle has already written a vivid chapter in the history of Chinese business—there are no eternal giants, only eternal disruptions.
