According to the Chainalysis East Asia Crypto Adoption Report, the number of unique wallets engaged in peer-to-peer stablecoin transactions in China increased 43-fold between Q1 2024 and Q2 2026. From July 2025 to June 2026, users conducted approximately 18.1 million self-custodied transfers, moving a total of $104.1 billion.
The annualized turnover rate for stablecoins in China reached 33.2 times, significantly higher than the global average of 9.3 times. Domestic peer-to-peer activity now constitutes 59.1% of China's crypto economy, which is estimated at a minimum of $176 billion. This share marks a 3.5-fold increase compared to previous periods.
Following the reinforcement of restrictions on unauthorized stablecoins and tokenized assets by Chinese authorities in February 2026, the market saw a $4.9 billion spike in monthly transfer volume the following month. Users are increasingly shifting toward decentralized, direct wallet-to-wallet transfers.
The report also highlights broader regional trends, noting that South Korea leads the East Asian crypto economy with a valuation of approximately $1.2 trillion. Of this, $449.1 billion is linked to a specific market segment. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's market is primarily driven by institutional inflows.
