Official announcement of the "rare earth stablecoin" project on August 5, 2025.
On August 1, Ant Group, in collaboration with the People's Bank of China and China Rare Earth Group and other authoritative institutions, launched the world's first stablecoin linked to rare earths—RESDC (Rare Earth Special Renminbi). This is not only a significant breakthrough in China's fintech sector but also a milestone event in the history of digital currency development, marking a crucial step for China in the field of digital asset innovation.
1. How Ant Group leverages blockchain technology to disrupt the stablecoin landscape.
As a leading fintech giant in China, Ant Group's innovative move this time is to deeply integrate its self-developed blockchain technology (Ant Chain) into the design of stablecoins. The three core advantages of this technology have completely changed the rules of traditional cross-border payments:
✅ Second-level transaction confirmation: Reduced from 3-5 days for traditional cross-border payments to instantaneous completion.
✅ Cost reduced by 80%: Eliminated the cumbersome intermediary fees from banks, SWIFT, and others.
✅ 100% traceability: Each transaction corresponds to real rare earth trades, ensuring a high degree of consistency between the flow of funds and goods.
This means that when Chinese rare earth companies export, overseas buyers can achieve instant payment through RESDC, with funds arriving in real-time, completely eliminating the risks of exchange rate fluctuations and high bank fees. This innovative payment model is expected to reshape the financial ecosystem of global rare earth trade.
2. The revolutionary dual-anchor mechanism of rare earth stablecoins.
Unlike traditional stablecoins (such as USDT) that are pegged to a single asset, RESDC innovatively adopts a "renminbi + rare earth" dual-support model:
- Value foundation of digital currency: 1 RESDC is always equivalent to 1 yuan (fully guaranteed by the central bank's reserve funds).
- Physical asset anchoring: Corresponding to equivalent rare earth reserves (including rare metals such as praseodymium and neodymium).
This innovative design endows RESDC with dual value attributes. It is not only an efficient payment tool but also the world's first financial product that combines strategic resources with digital currency. As China's rare earths become irreplaceable in the global supply chain, RESDC is expected to become a new standard for bulk commodity trade settlement.
3. How RESDC reshapes the global digital currency ecosystem.
(1) Breaking the global hegemony of the US dollar stablecoins.
Currently, over 90% of the global stablecoin market is dominated by USDT and USDC, which are pegged to the US dollar. The emergence of RESDC marks the beginning of the establishment of an independent value system for the renminbi in the field of digital currency. If future new energy minerals such as lithium and cobalt adopt similar models, the US dollar's dominant position in digital payments will face unprecedented challenges.
(2) Accelerating the internationalization of the renminbi.
The seamless exchange mechanism between RESDC and the digital renminbi (e-CNY) opens new paths for the internationalization of the renminbi. Overseas companies will have to hold renminbi assets to purchase China's rare earths. This demand-driven model of holding renminbi is more sustainable than traditional international settlement promotion.
4. Global trade settlement may usher in a "rare earth standard."
With China's rare earth exports accounting for over 70% of global supply, the application scenarios for RESDC are rapidly expanding. Analysts point out that this innovative model of combining national strategic resources with digital currency could trigger profound changes in the global trade settlement system:
• Competition for pricing power in bulk commodities: The popularization of RESDC may change the pricing mechanism for rare earths, thereby impacting the cost structure of the new energy industry chain.
• New guarantee for financial security: The dual-anchor mechanism provides physical asset support for the stablecoin's value, reducing the credit risk associated with purely fiat currency anchoring.
• New paradigm for cross-border payments: The transaction transparency and efficiency ensured by blockchain technology may become the new standard for future trade settlement.
The industry generally believes that RESDC is not just a payment tool, but a concentrated display of China's fintech strength. It organically combines innovations in digital currency technology, management of national strategic resources, and reforms of the financial system, providing a new "Chinese solution" for the development of global digital currency. As more countries recognize its value system, RESDC is expected to become an important force in reshaping the global financial landscape.
