China P2P stablecoin wallets surge 43-fold despite crypto restrictions
Image: CointelegraphChainalysis data shows unique Chinese wallets sending peer-to-peer stablecoin transactions grew 43-fold between Q1 2024 and Q2 2026. $104.1 billion moved across 18.1 million self-custodied stablecoin transfers from July 2025 to June 2026. Stablecoin turnover hit 33.2 times annually, over three times the global average. Domestic P2P activity made up 59.1% of China's estimated $176 billion crypto economy, a 3.5-fold increase from the prior period.
Key points
- Unique Chinese P2P stablecoin sending wallets grew 43-fold between Q1 2024 and Q2 2026
- $104.1 billion moved across 18.1 million self-custodied stablecoin transfers in China from July 2025 to June 2026
- Domestic P2P made up 59.1% of China's estimated $176 billion crypto economy, up 3.5x from the prior period
Why it matters
The growth shows stablecoins function as working capital in China despite strict crypto trading bans. High domestic P2P share indicates users rely on peer-to-peer transfers to access dollar-pegged assets.
What's unclear
Reports conflict on South Korea's total East Asia crypto economy value: one cites $449.1 billion, another cites ~$1.2 trillion with $449.1 billion as a specific segment
Sources · 2 publishers
Crypto Briefing
Tier 2
Chainalysis reports 43-fold surge in China’s P2P stablecoin wallets
Coverage timeline
- First reported by Cointelegraph
- Confirmed by Crypto Briefing
- CryptoVideos brief published
How this brief was made. Our system found this event in 2 independent publications, summarised two complete reports with AI and checked every number above against the source text. Sources are linked in full. Not financial advice. Report an error
