China P2P Stablecoin Wallets Jump 43x Despite Crypto Curbs, Says Chainalysis

China’s restricted stance on cryptocurrency trading has not stopped stablecoin use from expanding, according to a new analysis by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. In its latest report, the company says the number of unique wallets sending peer-to-peer (P2P) stablecoin transactions in China surged dramatically from the first quarter of 2024 to the second quarter of 2026.

Chainalysis estimates that during the 2026 reporting period—running from July 2025 to June 2026—China recorded $104.1 billion across 18.1 million transfers tied to stablecoins held in self-custody. The activity translated into rapid turnover: stablecoin holdings changed hands 33.2 times per year, more than three times the global average of 9.3.

Key takeaways

• Chainalysis reports a 43-fold increase in unique wallets sending China-based P2P stablecoin transactions from Q1 2024 to Q2 2026.
• China posted $104.1 billion across 18.1 million transfers in the July 2025–June 2026 window, based on self-custodied holdings.
• Stablecoins in China turned over 33.2 times annually—well above the global average—suggesting use beyond simple price exposure.
• Chainalysis estimates China’s crypto economy at at least $176 billion, with domestic P2P activity contributing 59.1% of the total.
• Other East Asian markets show distinct crypto behavior patterns, from Hong Kong’s institutional inflows to Japan’s heavy DEX usage.

China’s stablecoin turnover suggests use as “working capital”

The most striking element of Chainalysis’s findings is not just the growth in transaction counts, but the speed at which stablecoins appear to be moving. The report characterizes the 33.2 annual turnover rate as a pattern consistent with users treating stablecoins as “working capital,” rather than holding them as long-term positions.

To put the figure in context, Chainalysis compares China’s turnover rate with the broader global average of 9.3 times per year. That gap matters for investors and market participants because it points to different drivers of demand: when turnover is high, stablecoins are often used to facilitate frequent transfers—such as settlement for commerce or other time-sensitive financial activity—rather than just parking funds.

Chainalysis also ties the broader expansion to measurable changes within domestic P2P flows. In its reporting, the company notes that China’s domestic stablecoin transfer volume added $4.9 billion in March 2026, described as the largest monthly increase shown in the dataset.

Domestic P2P dominates—despite regulatory pressure

Chainalysis frames China’s growth within the continued reality of capital controls and restrictions on crypto trading. Even so, the firm’s estimate puts China’s crypto economy at at least $176 billion.

Within that total, domestic P2P activity accounts for 59.1% of the activity Chainalysis tracks. The report says this is a substantial increase relative to 2025, where domestic P2P activity held a smaller share—described as 3.5 times lower than its 2026 proportion.

The backdrop to this expansion is China’s evolving enforcement posture toward tokenized finance. Earlier coverage from Cointelegraph noted that China reinforced restrictions in February through new rules aimed at unauthorized yuan-pegged stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets. Chainalysis’s data therefore highlights a tension: stablecoin use is growing in P2P channels even as regulators have targeted specific categories of stablecoins and tokenized instruments.

How China differs from neighboring crypto economies

Chainalysis’s report places China within a wider East Asian picture, emphasizing that stablecoin and crypto usage patterns are not uniform across the region.

South Korea: Chainalysis ranks South Korea as East Asia’s largest crypto economy at $449.1 billion. It also reports that activity rose 12.3% from the prior reporting period. The firm notes that retail traders in South Korea show a strong preference for AI-linked tokens, suggesting a more market-and-theme-driven retail dynamic compared with China’s P2P-heavy stablecoin activity profile.

Hong Kong: The city stands out for institutional involvement. Chainalysis says institutional platforms made up 16% of service inflows—nearly three times the share seen in nearby jurisdictions. The report estimates Hong Kong received almost $24 billion in inbound business-to-business flows. That institutional tilt comes alongside a regulatory milestone: Hong Kong issued its first stablecoin licenses in April, according to earlier reporting from Cointelegraph.

Japan: Japan’s pattern is more exchange-mechanism focused. Chainalysis reports that decentralized exchanges (DEXs) account for nearly 35% of service activity, the highest share among mature East Asian markets in its dataset. It also says 65.7% of DEX swaps occur between $10 and $1,000, and that DEX activity has risen more than 200% since 2022.

Chainalysis links part of that institutional and market evolution to Japan’s regulatory direction as well. Cointelegraph previously reported that lawmakers passed revisions in July that place digital assets within Japan’s financial-markets framework.

What to watch next

Chainalysis’s findings raise an immediate question for readers: if stablecoins are increasingly being used as fast-moving financial tools inside China’s self-custodied P2P ecosystem, how will enforcement evolve—especially after February’s rules targeting unauthorized yuan-pegged stablecoins and certain tokenized real-world asset activity? The next datapoints to monitor are whether domestic P2P dominance continues to grow and whether stablecoin turnover remains elevated in the post-2026 enforcement environment.