China's P2P Stablecoin Activity Surges 43-Fold Despite Crypto Restrictions

According to a report by Chainalysis, the number of independent wallets involved in peer-to-peer (P2P) stablecoin transactions in China surged 43-fold from the first quarter of 2024 to the second quarter of 2026. During the reporting period from July 2025 to June 2026, Chainalysis recorded 18.1 million self-custodied stablecoin transactions totaling $104.1 billion. The annual turnover rate for stablecoin holdings was 33.2 times, more than three times the global average of 9.3 times. Chainalysis noted that this high turnover rate aligns with users leveraging stablecoins as operational capital.

Chainalysis estimated that China's crypto economy reached at least $176 billion, with domestic P2P activity accounting for 59.1% of the total, 3.5 times higher than the previous reporting period. In March 2026, China saw the largest monthly increase in stablecoin transfers, rising by $4.9 billion. This growth occurred despite China's long-standing restrictions on crypto trading, with regulators introducing new rules in February targeting unauthorized stablecoins pegged to the yuan and tokenized real-world assets.

The report highlighted that China's P2P-dominated market contrasts with other East Asian markets. South Korea, with a $44.9 billion crypto economy, saw a 12.3% increase in activity, driven by retail interest in AI-related tokens. Meanwhile, institutional platforms in Hong Kong handled 16% of service inflows, nearly three times higher than neighboring regions, and recorded close to $24 billion in enterprise-to-enterprise inflows. In April, Hong Kong granted its first stablecoin licenses.