China stablecoin wallets surge despite crypto restrictions

• Chinese wallets sending peer-to-peer stablecoin transactions grew 43-fold between Q1 2024 and Q2 2026.
• China’s crypto economy reached an estimated $176.3 billion during the study period.
• Peer-to-peer activity accounted for 59.1% of China’s crypto economy as users increasingly used stablecoins for payments.

China’s crypto economy reached an estimated $176.3 billion between July 2025 and June 2026, according to Chainalysis.

Peer-to-peer activity accounted for 59.1% of that economy, up 3.5 times from the previous period.

Unique wallets sending peer-to-peer stablecoin transactions grew 43-fold between Q1 2024 and Q2 2026.

Stablecoin activity accelerated from March 2025 as monthly transaction volumes increased across several payment ranges.

China recorded $104.1 billion across 18.1 million stablecoin transfers during the study period.

The report estimates Chinese self-custodied stablecoins circulated 33.2 times annually, versus a global average of 9.3 times.

China’s pattern contrasts with Hong Kong, where regulated institutional platforms captured 16% of service inflows.

The findings show how crypto activity can shift towards peer-to-peer channels despite restrictions on domestic exchange services.