On both sides of the Pacific, a narrative about the future of stablecoins is unfolding in distinctly different forms.

On the other hand, there is the cautious layout of industry giants. Recently, the surge of stablecoins in mainland China has been on the rise. The Governor of the People’s Bank of China, Pan Gongsheng, mentioned stablecoins for the first time at the 2025 Lujiazui Forum, stating that emerging technologies such as blockchain and distributed ledger technology are driving the vigorous development of central bank digital currencies and stablecoins, achieving payment and settlement simultaneously, fundamentally reshaping the traditional payment system, significantly shortening the cross-border payment chain, while also posing enormous challenges to financial regulation. In Hong Kong, the “Stablecoin Bill” has been confirmed to officially take effect on August 1. On the eve of the licensing in Hong Kong, many banking institutions, tech giants, and fintech companies are also accelerating their entry into the crypto market, frequently announcing plans to apply for stablecoin licenses.

• On June 12, Ant Group’s two subsidiaries, Ant International and Ant Financial, announced the initiation of the stablecoin license application. Subsequently, relevant individuals indicated that Lianlian Digital is also actively exploring the possibility of applying for related licenses in the aforementioned regions. Currently, Lianlian Digital has established a dedicated team responsible for promoting stablecoin-related projects and conducting use case studies.
• On June 16, Yuta Logistics Technology announced that it is actively researching relevant regulatory details and plans to apply for a stablecoin issuance license after the stablecoin regulations in Hong Kong take effect. The company plans to launch its own stablecoin “RHKD” and also plans to issue a digital token “RBTC,” which will be pegged to Bitcoin as the underlying asset. Customers will be able to exchange “RBTC” using Hong Kong dollars or US dollars. The company expects that the token will be supported by 100% Bitcoin reserves (achieving a 1:1 Bitcoin exchange).
• On June 17, Liu Qiangdong, Chairman of the Board of JD Group, stated that JD hopes to apply for stablecoin licenses in all major currency countries around the world, and then achieve remittance between global enterprises through the stablecoin license, reducing cross-border payment costs by 90% and improving efficiency to within 10 seconds. At the same time, JD expects to obtain the license at the beginning of the fourth quarter of this year and launch JD stablecoin.
• On June 18, the A-share listed company Small Commodity City stated, “The company operates the world’s largest small commodity trading market, naturally possessing a vast and high-frequency cross-border trade settlement scenario. Innovative payment tools such as stablecoins have the potential to provide more efficient and low-cost cross-border payment solutions for global merchants, especially small and micro enterprises, aligning with our mission to serve实体贸易. We welcome and support Hong Kong’s proactive progress in the stablecoin regulatory framework, and our cross-border payment platform ‘Yiwu Pay’ will continue to pay attention to the relevant regulatory process, and will actively evaluate and submit relevant applications as soon as the regulations are clarified and the path is unblocked.”

According to a report by Delphi Digital, the supply of stablecoins in the market has exceeded $250 billion for the first time. Among them, yield-bearing stablecoins are growing rapidly, with Ethena reaching nearly $6 billion since its launch; Tether and Circle still dominate the market, accounting for 86% of the circulating supply combined; the diversity of issuers has increased, with more than 10 stablecoins having a circulation of over $100 million; over $120 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds are locked in stablecoins, creating a liquidity pool outside of traditional markets.

The above case not only illustrates the differences in strategic choices between the two regions, but also reflects two parallel development models in the global stablecoin arena at a deeper level. A core question thus emerges: will it be the legislative-driven grand narrative, or the industry-driven scenario penetration, that ultimately dominates this structural transformation concerning the future digital financial infrastructure?

Two paths: top-down mainstream compliance and bottom-up industry penetration.

The different development paths of stablecoins in the United States and Hong Kong are rooted in their distinct market environments and the strategic starting points of the participants. Taking Circle and JD Coin Chain as examples, the former represents a top-down, mainstream compliance-focused enduring battle, while the latter represents a bottom-up, industry scenario-driven B-end breakthrough.

The path represented by the former is a mainstream conspiracy aimed at gaining on-chain discourse power. Circle, as a “Crypto Native,” has always had a clear long-term strategic goal, which is to break free from the marginal label of the crypto world and enter the core of the traditional financial system. However, this process has not been smooth. Circle once focused on going public in the traditional financial market, but in 2022, due to the great uncertainty in the market environment and regulation, the SPAC merger plan failed. This major setback precisely confirms that in the United States, without a clear policy framework, stablecoins are difficult to be accepted by the mainstream. The fundamental turning point lies in the clarification of the macro policy environment in the United States, especially under the promotion of crypto-friendly policy directions and the progress of regulations like the GENIUS Act, which has provided Circle with the right timing and conditions, paving the way for its eventual entry into the capital market.

In stark contrast to this is the Hong Kong path represented by the latter, which focuses on a new breakout based on the B-end. JD Coin Chain Technology (Hong Kong) was registered in Hong Kong in March 2024. In July, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced the list of participants in the stablecoin issuer “sandbox,” which includes JD Coin Chain. According to its official website, JD will issue a cryptocurrency stablecoin pegged to the Hong Kong dollar at a 1:1 ratio. JD’s stablecoin is a stablecoin based on a public chain and pegged to the Hong Kong dollar (HKD) at a 1:1 ratio, which will be issued on a public blockchain. Its reserves consist of highly liquid and trustworthy assets, which are securely stored in independent accounts at licensed financial institutions, with strict verification of the integrity of the reserves through regular disclosures and audit reports. JD is not a newcomer in the payment field, but it failed to establish an independent payment ecosystem comparable to Alibaba and Tencent in the last round of mobile payment wars focused on the C-end. Therefore, JD’s entry into stablecoins is not merely a catch-up in an old battlefield but a natural extension based on JD Group’s advantages in technology and supply chain. It chooses to avoid the already saturated C-end retail payment market and directly cut into the B-end cross-border trade and supply chain finance where it has structural advantages. The logical starting point of this path is not to seek comprehensive deregulation through top-level legislation, but to leverage the specific institutional space provided by Hong Kong as an international financial center and regulatory sandbox to solve specific business problems.

Two strategies: B-end new battlefield VS on-chain currency track

Different starting points determine two completely different market strategies.

In a recent interview, Liu Peng, CEO of JD Coin Chain Technology, stated that as of early June 2025, the company has mainly conducted tests on the Hong Kong dollar stablecoin, and will later test other fiat stablecoins. Based on market demand, the two stablecoins are expected to be issued simultaneously. Unlike the first phase, which focused on testing product functionality and technical details, the second phase emphasizes testing the use of stablecoins in three practical scenarios: cross-border payments, investment transactions, and retail payments.

In the cross-border payment scenario, the JD Coin Chain plan aims to expand its user base through both direct and indirect customer acquisition methods (such as collaborating with compliant wholesalers). In the investment trading scenario, discussions are currently underway with global compliant exchanges to launch JD stablecoin in different regions. In the retail sector, the first implementation will be on JD’s global sales platform for Hong Kong and Macau, where users will be able to use stablecoins for shopping in JD’s self-operated e-commerce scenarios.

JD’s strategy can be seen as a scalpel tactic, with its core focus on deeply cultivating the B-end, where scenarios reign supreme. Liu Peng clearly pointed out that the target users of JD’s stablecoin are not crypto investors but rather a large number of实体企业 and cross-border trade participants. Its core value proposition is not speculation, but rather solving long-standing pain points in traditional cross-border payments through blockchain technology, such as high costs, low efficiency, and lack of transparency in processes. This is achieved by tailoring payment solutions for JD’s global sales, international logistics, and other inherent ecosystems.

In contrast, Circle’s strategy is to seize the protocol high ground, with standards as king. Its ultimate goal, as noted by Bernstein analysts, is to evolve into the monetary track of the internet. This means that what Circle pursues is not merely solving a specific scenario but becoming a universal, underlying digital cash protocol. By establishing its legal status through legislation, Circle hopes that USDC can be seamlessly integrated by all banks, payment companies, fintech platforms, and commercial applications. This represents a typical horizontal platformization and protocol-driven logic, aimed at maximizing network effects by establishing foundational standards, thereby occupying an indispensable core position in the global digital financial system.

Two strategies point to two different business outcomes.

The future landscape of JD.com is primarily about building a highly closed-loop on-chain trade empire. By integrating stablecoin payments with its international logistics, overseas warehousing, order systems, and other data flows, it can theoretically achieve an unprecedented, efficient, and transparent global supply chain financial ecosystem. However, its more strategically valuable vision points to offshore RMB stablecoins. Leveraging Hong Kong’s institutional advantages as the world’s largest offshore RMB hub, once policy approval is obtained, issuing CNH stablecoins will not only provide JD.com with enormous commercial imagination space but also give it the opportunity to play a key financial infrastructure role in the internationalization of the RMB.

The conclusion of Circle is closely tied to consolidating the US dollar’s hegemonic position in the global digital economy. Its goal is to become the de facto private sector version of the digital dollar, becoming a core component of the new generation of financial infrastructure. However, it is worth noting that amidst the market frenzy, Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest has begun to cash out as the CRCL stock price reached new highs. According to trading disclosures, ARK sold a total of 642,766 shares of Circle stock through three of its core funds in just two days, with a total value of approximately $96.5 million, accounting for 14% of its initial position. Currently, another major institutional shareholder, BlackRock, has not reported any divestments, while the reduction by Circle’s internal executive team falls under the routine plan as per the prospectus following the IPO.

This does not entirely deny Circle’s long-term value, but it at least suggests that, in the eyes of the most optimistic investors, the stock price may have fully or even excessively reflected the favorable policy in the short term, necessitating tactical reduction to manage risk exposure. After the legislation is passed, the real commercial implementation and market competition challenges may just be beginning.

Different paths lead to the same destination? A currency war that defines the future.

Overall, JD.com and Circle represent two paradigms of stablecoin development. JD.com’s model is pragmatic, starting from solving specific business problems, with an advantage of having a solid business foundation and clear application scenarios. Circle’s model, on the other hand, is idealistic, starting from building a grand financial vision, with the advantage of having leading legislative support and strong capital endorsement.

Of course, there are still many issues to be resolved: Can the B-end barrier built around the industry in the JD model effectively withstand the top-down dimensionality reduction attacks from universal protocols like Circle? And when Circle’s grand narrative truly delves into the real economy, must it also, like JD, tackle specific industry application scenarios one by one?

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