This article is based on user @BTW0205's post.
'In the future, global cross-border payments may only need 10 seconds.'
When Liu Qiangdong said this at an internal sharing session, many people thought JD was going to enter DeFi and go all-in on Web3. But wake up, this is not the stablecoin you think it is. This is not DeFi's gentle land, but an industrial-grade high-speed rail system of central enterprise logic + on-chain efficiency.
This 'JD stablecoin' is not about freedom or decentralization, but about settlement, regulation, and dollar replacement.
JD is indeed going to issue a stablecoin.
The original words from Sina Finance are as follows:
JD plans to apply for stablecoin licenses in major currency countries around the world to reduce cross-border payment costs by 90% and achieve settlement within 10 seconds.
Payment scenarios first focus on B-end, then penetrate C-end, 'hoping that in the future everyone will use JD stablecoin for global consumption.' It sounds beautiful, but we must ask:
What exactly is it? Not DeFi, not USDT, not a Web3 stablecoin.
What is it? An on-chain settlement tool, not a publicly usable asset.
You think this is the Chinese version of USDC, but it is actually the on-chain RMB version of SWIFT.
❌ It will not be on-chain to Ethereum.
It won't be listed on Uniswap, won't do stablecoin swaps on Curve, and won't check balances on DeBank.
❌ It does not serve you.
It is B2B—between enterprises for import-export clearing, overseas procurement, and on-chain bookkeeping.
❌ It does not airdrop, does not rise or fall.
It is a 'burn-after-use' compliant stable value tool, similar to a 'digital voucher', not a digital asset.
Using Liu Qiangdong's logic: This 'stablecoin' is not an asset, but a fuel unit on the payment protocol layer, running on an enterprise-grade permissioned chain, perhaps you can't even register your address.
Logical breakdown: Focus on B2B first, compliance for overseas expansion, avoid DeFi.
This is the typical path of stablecoins in mainland China at present:
Does that have anything to do with the people? Basically none.
The distance between you, me, ordinary users, and it is probably similar to your relationship with the SWIFT system.
You can't use it, you can't see it, and you can't farm airdrops.
You won't get rich because it rises, nor will you be liquidated because it falls.
It won't be on Binance, nor will it be traded on Dex.
This is not Web3, not a currency system co-created by users, but a highly centralized enterprise internal control toolchain built with chain technology.
It belongs to the 'capital toolkit', not the 'people's currency revolution'.
Don't be fooled by the three words 'stablecoin'.
In the context of Web3, what does 'stablecoin' mean?
Freely tradable.
Based on blockchain.
Supports DeFi operations (lending, trading, earning).
Co-create, govern, and use with global users.
And the JD stablecoin:
Stable, but not circulating.
On-chain, but you can't use it.
Licensed, but no DAO
Compliant, but not an open system
It is more like an extension of an enterprise ERP system with a 'stablecoin' shell.
What is its ambition? Dollar replacement + supply chain control.
In today's world of intensified geopolitical competition and the widespread use of dollar sanctions, any global Chinese enterprise wants to establish a 'dollar Plan B'.
JD's approach can be deconstructed as follows:
Establish an on-chain settlement network through stablecoin licenses.
Complete stablecoin settlement pilots in major currency zones like the US, Southeast Asia, and the EU.
Use its own payment system to replace part of the SWIFT paths.
Implementation: Collect payment → on-chain settlement → upstream supplier payment, all completed in a closed loop using 'JD stablecoin'.
To put it bluntly: This is Liu Qiangdong's on-chain 'free trade zone', not the people's free economy.
Conclusion: This is not Web3, but it is very real.
Liu Qiangdong is not wrong, and JD is not a 'pseudo-chain'. They are just doing something that aligns with their own logic and the reality of the times:
When e-CNY locks domestic C-end retail payments, when Web3 stablecoins face policy resistance, and when global clearing costs are high and efficiency is low;
Businesses will actively seek a fast lane on the chain, even if it's a lane with 'no you, me, or him, only financial reports and regulation'.
This is a victory for the chain, not for the chain citizens.
