The number of unique wallets sending peer-to-peer stablecoin transactions in China increased 43-fold between the first quarter of 2024 and the second quarter of 2026, according to Chainalysis
The number of unique wallets sending peer-to-peer stablecoin transactions in China increased 43-fold between the first quarter of 2024 and the second quarter of 2026, according to Chainalysis, showing rapid growth in direct wallet-to-wallet activity despite the country's continuing restrictions on cryptocurrency trading. Chainalysis recorded $104.1 billion across 18.1 million transfers involving self-custodied stablecoin holdings during the 12 months from July 2025 through June 2026. Those holdings turned over 33.2 times annually, compared with a global average of 9.3 times. The analytics firm estimates China's broader crypto economy at at least $176 billion. Domestic P2P activity represented 59.1% of that total during the latest reporting period, roughly 3.5 times its share in the previous year's dataset.
Why Does China's Stablecoin Turnover Rate Matter?
The 33.2-times annual turnover rate is one of the more revealing figures in the data. Rather than stablecoins sitting for long periods in personal wallets, the same pool of assets is apparently being transferred repeatedly. Chainalysis said the pattern is consistent with stablecoins being used as working capital. That could encompass payments, settlement, trading liquidity and other frequent transfers, although blockchain data alone cannot establish the purpose behind every transaction. Domestic activity also accelerated sharply during the reporting period. China recorded a $4.9 billion monthly increase in domestic stablecoin transfer volume in March 2026, the largest monthly addition shown in the dataset. The growth comes as Beijing has tightened rather than relaxed its crypto regime. In February, Chinese regulators
expanded restrictions covering virtual currencies, yuan-linked stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets. Authorities continued to classify virtual-currency-related business activity inside China as illegal financial activity and restricted unauthorized issuance of yuan-pegged stablecoins.
Investor Takeaway
The important figure is not only the $104.1 billion transferred, but how quickly the stablecoin pool is circulating. Turnover more than three times the global average points to active transactional use, although it does not by itself reveal whether flows represent payments, trading, capital movement or other purposes.
Are Restrictions Pushing Crypto Activity Toward P2P?
China's market structure differs from jurisdictions where licensed exchanges dominate activity. Direct wallet transfers can operate without relying on a domestic centralized trading venue, making self-custody and P2P channels particularly relevant in a market where conventional crypto services face extensive restrictions. The Chainalysis data does not establish that regulation caused the 43-fold increase in active P2P wallets. It does, however, show that crypto activity has continued to develop outside the conventional exchange model despite years of enforcement measures. China's policy toward stablecoins also contains an important distinction. The People's Bank of China has acknowledged their growing role in international finance and cross-border payments while maintaining tight controls domestically. FinanceFeeds reported in June that
PBOC officials were examining the implications of stablecoins for cross-border payment systems, without signaling a reversal of China's domestic crypto restrictions.
Investor Takeaway
China's data shows that restricting centralized crypto businesses does not necessarily eliminate on-chain activity. For stablecoin issuers and compliance providers, increasingly P2P-heavy flows make wallet monitoring, cross-border controls and transaction attribution more important.
How Does China Compare With the Rest of East Asia?
Chainalysis found sharply different market structures across East Asia. South Korea remained the region's largest crypto economy at $449.1 billion during the reporting period, up 12.3%, with retail traders showing particularly strong interest in AI-linked tokens. Hong Kong recorded a more institutionally weighted market. Institutional platforms represented 16% of service inflows, almost three times the share of any regional neighbor, while inbound business-to-business activity approached $24 billion. That development coincided with Hong Kong's shift toward regulated digital-asset infrastructure, including the
first stablecoin issuer licenses awarded in April. Japan followed another path. Decentralized exchanges accounted for about 35% of service activity, while Chainalysis found that 65.7% of DEX swaps ranged from $10 to $1,000. DEX activity has increased by more than 200% since 2022. Japan has simultaneously moved crypto deeper into conventional financial regulation, with lawmakers approving legislation that
places digital assets within the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act framework.
Investor Takeaway
East Asia is developing several distinct crypto models at once: retail-led trading in South Korea, institutional infrastructure in Hong Kong, rising DEX use in Japan and a heavily P2P stablecoin economy in mainland China. For investors and crypto firms, regional market size alone increasingly says less than the channels through which that activity actually occurs.
