According to the Chainalysis report, the Chinese crypto economy reached at least $176.3 billion between July 2025 and June 2026. Despite strict government bans, the market has shifted toward a decentralized infrastructure, with P2P transactions accounting for 59.1% of total activity.
The volume of P2P activity grew 3.5 times compared to the previous period. Notably, the number of unique wallets sending stablecoins directly to each other increased 43-fold between the first quarter of 2024 and the second quarter of 2026.
During the study period, Chinese users conducted 18.1 million transactions totaling $104.1 billion. With an average stablecoin holding of $3.1 billion, the assets turned over 33.2 times annually, significantly exceeding the global average of 9.3 times.
Analysts suggest that stablecoins are functioning as a parallel payment network and working capital rather than a store of value. This trend accelerated in March 2025, coinciding with the expansion of China's social credit system into financial and internet sectors.
