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China’s P2P stablecoin wallets surge 43x, Korea’s $450B crypto economy: Asia Express
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China’s peer-to-peer stablecoin activity expanded sharply despite strict crypto bans, Chainalysis said. Unique wallets sending P2P stablecoin transactions rose 43-fold between Q1 2024 and Q2 2026. The firm recorded $104.1 billion across 18.1 million transfers involving self-custodied holdings from July 2025 to June 2026.
Chainalysis estimated China’s crypto economy at at least $176 billion. Domestic P2P activity was 59.1% of the total, 3.5 times its 2025 share. Stablecoin holdings turned over 33.2 times yearly, versus a global average of 9.3.
China’s domestic stablecoin transfer volume added $4.9 billion in March 2026, the largest monthly increase shown. Chainalysis said the high turnover was consistent with users treating stablecoins as working capital. Demand persists even where formal crypto trading is restricted.
South Korea ranked as East Asia’s largest crypto economy at $449.1 billion, Chainalysis said. Activity grew 12.3% in the year to June 2026, with retail traders favoring AI-linked tokens. Yet the first half of 2026 brought a sharp reversal for domestic exchanges.
The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit reported that average daily trading volume at virtual asset exchanges fell 44% from the previous six months. Market capitalization dropped 33%, won-denominated deposits fell 35%, and exchange sales declined 41%. Operating profits plunged 78%, even as trade-eligible accounts rose slightly by 0.4%.
Separately, Securitize shares jumped 8% on Tuesday after the tokenization platform announced a partnership with LG CNS. The companies signed a memorandum of understanding to develop tokenized assets and digital asset infrastructure for South Korean financial institutions. South Korea’s Financial Services Commission last week proposed rules for tokenized securities, set to take effect in February 2027.
In Singapore, Standard Chartered announced plans for institutional digital asset custody. Independent Reserve added cross-border payment tools and launched derivatives trading via subsidiary ReserveX. Payward partnered with Singapore Gulf Bank for crypto settlement, signaling continued institutional interest in Asia.
