How much is a channel worth?
Let us start with an ancient yet epoch-making story.
In 1859, the Suez Canal began construction, taking a full ten years to dig a man-made waterway connecting the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. At that time, the cost was 416 million francs, equivalent to 1.5% of France's GDP. Today, this is an investment comparable to national-level infrastructure.
Why was such a high price paid back then to dig a 'man-made river'?
You will understand when you see a set of data:
Each ship passing through the Suez pays about $250,000;
1.8 to 2.1 million ships pass each year;
Annual revenue exceeds $6 billion;
Average daily revenue exceeds $15 million.
Because it is not an ordinary river, but a 'golden passage' that connects Europe and Asia.
Without this canal, all ships would have to navigate around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, adding not only 4 to 5 days to the journey but also costs 2 to 3.7 times higher than now. Each detour could cost hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars more.
So, it's not a water issue; it's a 'channel' issue. An efficient, safe, and legal channel brings not just time and cost savings, but the key to mastering global trade.
The channel value of stablecoins is being rediscovered.
We are also standing at a new starting point of a 'channel revolution' today. Many countries around the world are promoting stablecoin legislation, opening up the main artery to the real financial system for the on-chain world. Or rather, it opens a fast track for traditional business to on-chain finance. It is predicted that by 2025, the global market value of stablecoins will reach $250 billion; Standard Chartered Bank is even more optimistic, expecting its potential to expand to $2 trillion, thereby unlocking $10 trillion in capital flow.
More importantly: regulators are beginning to recognize the legitimacy of stablecoins.
Just like the Suez Canal is not just about 'water passage', but also 'trade passage'; the moment stablecoin legislation is passed, it means capital can finally enter the chain legally and directly. No longer relying on shell companies or navigating gray channels, costs are reduced, and efficiency is increased.
This is a landmark moment: the compliant channel is officially opened.
The story of USDT: It's not just about issuing a coin, but seizing a structural position.
Before talking about JD.com, we must first take a look at 'big brother' Tether - the issuer of USDT.
What opportunity did Tether seize? At the birth of Bitcoin, it was created for peer-to-peer payments, but due to its high volatility, it was difficult to use for daily settlements. USDT just fills this gap. It was not 'born out of thin air'; it was born from real market demand: providing anchored assets for on-chain transactions, liquidity hubs, and hedging tools. It has been aptly said: after every round of bull market bubbles bursts, stablecoins are the 'embers' left in the market, allowing funds to remain and wait for the next wave of market trends. Tether's returns are also astonishing:
In 2024, net profit will be $13.7 billion, with a team of only 100 people, averaging over $68 million in output per person, far exceeding JPMorgan Chase, American Express, and Berkshire Hathaway.
Is this reliant on technology? No. It relies on structural positioning - it stands at the essential passage of on-chain capital flow. Even though it has faced investigations and regulatory fines, it did not evade compliance but instead improved while walking, ultimately allowing hundreds of millions of global users to 'dare to use' it. This is the structural dividend. And now, a new dividend window has been opened.
Why is JD.com making stablecoins?
Many people say that JD.com has entered Web3. But I don't see it that way.
JD.com is not doing stablecoins to issue currency, but to solve the old problem of cross-border e-commerce:
Long settlement cycles
High costs
Severe capital occupation
Bank processes are cumbersome
The value of stablecoins lies in being the shortest path between reality and the chain. They can:
Real-time arrival
Cross-border payments without intermediaries
Significantly reduced fees
The system can be automated, orchestrated, and audited
Therefore, stablecoins are not necessarily exclusive to Web3; they are a new tool for Web2 companies to build financial infrastructure.
This is not just an opportunity for JD.com, but an opportunity for all Chinese enterprises that hope to go abroad and connect globally.
Stablecoin 2.0 Era: System-level Solutions
The stablecoins of the past served speculative trading. Today's stablecoins serve businesses. They are no longer just a 'coin', but a system module, a part of the financial settlement system, and part of user incentives, supply chain closure, and cross-border settlement processes. The next stage of stablecoins is systematic, compliant, and structured development. The opportunity behind this is to provide services for 'stablecoin infrastructure' for businesses.
The role transformation of Web3 practitioners: from 'speculators' to 'architects'.
The real opportunity lies not in whether you can issue coins, but in whether you can:
Design payment systems for stablecoin integration.
Build cross-chain settlement bridges.
Achieve automatic revenue distribution and risk control strategies.
Help businesses achieve compliance.
If you understand the chain, the structure, and the business, then you happen to stand at this intersection.
If you only wander in Web3, that's not enough; you need to become a service provider, architect, and channel builder for more Web2 companies.
We are experiencing the 'Suez moment' of stablecoins.
Returning to that initial question: How much is a channel worth?
No one complains about the tolls of the Suez Canal because everyone knows: taking the long way is expensive, slow, and dangerous.
The stablecoin channel is the same. You can take gray paths, engage in arbitrage, or set up shell companies, but those risks are 'temporary dividends', not long-term moats.
What is truly valuable is the structure, the channel. The next explosion point in this industry is not the bustling coin issuance wind, but the steady construction of structures. Those who can really earn long-term value are those who 'build channels' for businesses.
I opened this river, and ships can navigate directly to Persia, fulfilling my wishes. The oath of Persian King Darius is still applicable today. Now, it is time for our generation of Web3 people to carve out a new channel.
/ END.
Author of this article: Lawyer Niu Xiaojing