China Sees 43-Fold Surge in P2P Stablecoin Wallets Despite Crypto Ban

Despite China’s strict cryptocurrency restrictions, the use of peer-to-peer (P2P) stablecoin wallets in the country surged dramatically. According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, the number of unique wallets sending P2P stablecoin transactions in China grew 43-fold between the first quarter of 2024 and the second quarter of 2026. This rapid expansion highlights how crypto activity in China has increasingly shifted toward direct wallet-to-wallet transfers.

Chainalysis reported that $104.1 billion was transacted across 18.1 million transfers involving China’s self-custodied stablecoin holdings during the 2026 reporting period, which ran from July 2025 to June 2026. The data indicates that stablecoin holdings in China turned over 33.2 times per year, a rate more than three times the global average of 9.3. Chainalysis noted that this high turnover rate suggests users are treating stablecoins as working capital rather than long-term investments.