China’s P2P Stablecoin Transactions Surge 43-Fold in Two Years

China’s peer-to-peer (P2P) stablecoin transactions have surged dramatically, with the number of unique wallets sending such transactions increasing 43-fold between Q1 2024 and Q2 2026. According to Chainalysis, the period from July 2025 to June 2026 saw 18.1 million transfers involving self-custodied stablecoin holdings in China, amounting to $104.1 billion. The annual turnover rate of stablecoin holdings reached 33.2 times, significantly higher than the global average of 9.3 times, suggesting that users are leveraging stablecoins as working capital.

Chainalysis estimates China’s crypto economy at a minimum of $176 billion, with domestic P2P activity accounting for 59.1% of this figure, 3.5 times the share reported in 2025. Notably, March 2026 recorded the largest monthly increase in domestic stablecoin transfers, rising by $4.9 billion, despite China’s long-standing restrictions on crypto trading. Regulators introduced new rules in February targeting unauthorized RMB-pegged stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets, yet the growth in P2P activity persisted.

China’s P2P-dominated market stands in contrast to other East Asian markets. South Korea, with a $449.1 billion crypto economy, is the largest in the region, experiencing a 12.3% increase in activity from the prior reporting period, driven by retail investors’ preference for AI-related tokens. Meanwhile, Hong Kong saw institutional platforms account for 16% of inbound services, nearly triple that of its neighbors, and recorded nearly $24 billion in business-to-business inflows, while issuing the region’s first stablecoin licenses in April.