China's P2P Stablecoin Wallets Soar 43x Despite Crypto Restrictions
Despite China's strict crypto trading restrictions, the use of P2P stablecoin wallets in the country surged dramatically. According to Chainalysis, the number of unique wallets sending P2P stablecoin transactions grew 43-fold between the first quarter of 2024 and the second quarter of 2026. During the 2026 reporting period, which ran from July 2025 to June 2026, China saw $104.1 billion across 18.1 million transfers involving self-custodied stablecoin holdings.
The data revealed that stablecoin holdings in China turned over 33.2 times per year, more than three times the global average of 9.3. Chainalysis noted that this pattern suggested users were treating stablecoins as working capital. The report estimated China's crypto economy at at least $176 billion, with domestic P2P activity accounting for 59.1% of the total, a significant increase from the previous period.
The growth in stablecoin activity came despite China's reinforced restrictions on crypto trading, which included new rules targeting unauthorized yuan-pegged stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets. The domestic stablecoin transfer volume added $4.9 billion in March 2026, the largest monthly increase recorded.
In contrast, other East Asian markets showed different trends. South Korea, ranked as East Asia's largest crypto economy at $449.1 billion, saw a 12.3% growth in activity, with a strong preference for AI-linked tokens among retail traders. Hong Kong stood out for institutional activity, with institutional platforms accounting for 16% of service inflows, nearly three times the share in any regional neighbor. The city received almost $24 billion in inbound business-to-business flows after issuing its first stablecoin licenses in April.
In Japan, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) accounted for nearly 35% of service activity, the highest share among mature East Asian markets. DEX activity had risen more than 200% since 2022, with 65.7% of DEX swaps occurring between $10 and $1,000. Japanese lawmakers passed revisions in July that brought digital assets under the country’s financial-markets framework.