Liu Qiangdong Sets His Sights on "Stablecoins" | Figures of the Week
Text | Li Yanyan, Reporter of "China Entrepreneur"
Editor | Zhang Xiaodi
Headshot Photographer | Deng Pan
Since the beginning of this year, the person who has been on the hot search list is none other than "Liu Qiangdong". Wherever he goes, his every word and deed attracts much attention. At a recent small - scale sharing session, in the face of media such as "China Entrepreneur", he specifically mentioned "stablecoins" - as a recently popular new concept, some industry insiders even compare its level of attention to that of AI.
Liu Qiangdong said that he hopes to apply for stablecoin licenses in all major global currency countries. Through stablecoin licenses, currency exchange between global enterprises can be realized, and the global cross - border payment cost can be reduced by 90%, and the efficiency can be improved to within 10 seconds.
"Currently, it takes an average of 2 to 4 days for enterprises to remit money, and the cost is also quite high. After completing B - end payment, we will penetrate into C - end payment. We hope that one day people can use JD stablecoins to pay when consuming around the world." Liu Qiangdong said.
Liu Qiangdong regards "stablecoins" as one of JD's current six major innovation projects, which shows its importance. However, this is not a "solo performance" of an Internet technology tycoon. In the wave of cross - border and overseas expansion, recently, global technology and retail giants including Ant Group, Walmart, and Amazon are all actively promoting and deploying their respective stablecoin projects.
In 2014, when JD went public in the United States, Liu Qiangdong once admitted that the biggest mistake was not starting to layout the payment business earlier, and was far left behind by Alipay and WeChat Pay. Now, Liu Qiangdong's emphasis on stablecoins has clearly risen to the strategic level of JD Group. So, what exactly are the "stablecoins" that Liu Qiangdong mentioned? Why are the giants flocking to this field? What are they aiming at?
JD Takes the Lead
For many people outside the "cryptocurrency circle", stablecoins are still a new concept. In essence, stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency that utilizes distributed ledger or blockchain technology.
Different from cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, whose prices fluctuate sharply, stablecoins maintain price stability by pegging to legal tender (such as the US dollar, Hong Kong dollar, etc.) or other reserve assets. For example, some well - known stablecoins, USDT and USDC, are pegged to the US dollar. In addition, there is also PAX Gold, a stablecoin pegged to gold.
The main advantages of stablecoins are cost and efficiency. A survey by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) shows that the cross - border payment efficiency of stablecoins can be 100 times higher than that of traditional payments, and the cost is more than 10 times lower. Currently, regions including Hong Kong, China, the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Singapore, and Japan are all promoting stablecoin regulatory regulations and exploring implementation applications.
JD initiated the application for a stablecoin license in Hong Kong very early.
Source: Visual China
A relevant person in charge of JD CoinChain Technology said that under the guidance of JD Group's overseas business development strategy, the team conducted a detailed study and analysis of the Web3 field and found that issuing payment - type stablecoins through blockchain technology can not only solve the problems encountered in its own cross - border settlement but also effectively serve other enterprises and the real economy. At the same time, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is also strongly supporting the Web3 industry.
"Based on comprehensive judgment, JD initiated the license application work in Hong Kong at the first time." The aforementioned person in charge said.
It is understood that JD's stablecoin is a stablecoin based on a public chain and pegged 1:1 to legal tender such as the Hong Kong dollar (HKD) or the US dollar (USD). It has not been officially issued yet. After one year of effort, in July 2024, "CoinChain Technology" under JD Group, Circle Coin Technology, and Standard Chartered Bank became the first - batch participants in the "Stablecoin Sandbox" announced by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
"China Entrepreneur" learned that in the first phase, JD's stablecoin is tentatively planned to be a stablecoin pegged to the Hong Kong dollar and the US dollar, and the specific situation will be adjusted based on regulatory requirements and market demand. JD revealed that it is actively communicating and cooperating closely with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and regulatory agencies in other regions to promote the compliant operation of JD's stablecoin business globally.
JD revealed that JD's stablecoin has now entered the second phase of sandbox testing and will provide mobile and PC application products for retail and institutional users. The testing scenarios mainly include cross - border payments, investment transactions, retail payments, etc.
Compared with traditional cross - border payment methods, JD's stablecoin has many advantages: it is fast, reducing the transaction time from days to minutes or even seconds; it has low cost, reducing intermediate links and transaction fees, and saving cross - border payment costs; it provides a good experience, enabling non - stop payments throughout the year. This makes it very suitable for current international trade settlement applications.
Based on these advantages, JD CoinChain Technology is carrying out cooperation in multiple scenarios. It is understood that in the cross - border payment scenario, when testing the cross - border application of stablecoins with Hong Kong - registered enterprises, the cost has been reduced by nearly 90%; in the investment transaction scenario, it is cooperating with leading compliant exchanges; in the retail payment scenario, it is connecting and testing with payment acceptance scenarios such as JD's Hong Kong and Macau stations, trying to support consumers to pay directly with JD - HKD.
JD said that it hopes to obtain a stablecoin license at the beginning of the fourth quarter of this year and simultaneously launch JD's stablecoin issued based on a public chain. The specific launch time of the stablecoin ultimately depends on regulatory approval.
Competition Among Giants
Public data shows that as of May 3, 2025, the global stablecoin issuance scale exceeded 240 billion US dollars.
Globally, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Singapore have all attempted to use stablecoins as a means of payment. For example, in September 2020, the European Union proposed a draft regulation on the market for crypto - assets (MiCA), which includes a special chapter on stablecoins, clearly defining the obligations of stablecoin issuers. This act came into effect in 2024.
Moreover, on June 5, Circle, the first listed company in the stablecoin concept, went public on the New York Stock Exchange. Its stock price soared by 168% on the first day, with a market value exceeding 18.3 billion US dollars, while it has less than 1,000 employees. According to public data, in 2023, the company's net profit was 268 million US dollars, and in 2024, it was 156 million US dollars. Its main sources of income are twofold: interest income from reserves and transaction fees.
Stablecoins are not only stirring up the cryptocurrency industry but also becoming an exploration direction for traditional financial companies and global technology giants. JD is not the only giant targeting stablecoins. Recently, technology giants such as Ant Group, Walmart, and Amazon are all actively promoting related projects.
According to GeekPark, in June, Ant International and Ant Digital Technology announced that they would apply for stablecoin licenses in Hong Kong, China, and Singapore. Ant Digital Technology has set Hong Kong as its global headquarters and is testing stablecoin applications in the regulatory sandbox, focusing on global treasury management and cross - border payments.
As retail platforms, Amazon and Walmart have a similar logic to JD in entering the stablecoin field. Among them, Walmart tries to attract users not well - covered by traditional banks and expand into emerging markets through the low transaction fees of stablecoins. Xiaomi has chosen a lightweight entry, and its Tianxing Bank is cooperating with JD CoinChain to develop cross - border payment solutions.
In addition, traditional payment providers (such as Visa and PayPal) have also launched their own stablecoin solutions, trying to maintain their market share through cooperation.
Source: AI - generated
"Stablecoins provide a bridge - they make people in traditional finance feel that they can gradually accept on - chain technology, and also make people in the cryptocurrency circle believe that they can reach the old money in traditional finance through stablecoins. In addition, stablecoins can bypass traditional payment systems such as SWIFT and may even avoid the long - arm jurisdiction of the US dollar." When talking about the reasons for the giants' competition in the stablecoin field, Zhou Hao, the chief economist of Guotai Junan International, said in a recent interview.
Zhou Hao also said that the interchangeability between stablecoins also avoids market fragmentation, preventing the chaotic situation where tens of thousands of stablecoins are not interoperable. Therefore, stablecoins have truly broken through many barriers, which is the key reason why all parties are willing to invest.
On June 18, Pan Gongsheng, the governor of the People's Bank of China, mentioned stablecoins for the first time at the 2025 Lujiazui Forum. He said that emerging technologies such as blockchain and distributed ledgers have promoted the booming development of central bank digital currencies and stablecoins, realizing "payment - on - settlement", reshaping the traditional payment system at the underlying level, significantly shortening the cross - border payment chain, and at the same time posing huge challenges to financial supervision.
Currently, Hong Kong has become an excellent location for various giants to layout stablecoins. Hong Kong's unique advantages lie in its status as an international financial center, its mature regulatory system, and its connectivity with the Chinese mainland. In terms of stablecoin regulation, it is also at the forefront, almost keeping pace with the US "GENIUS Act" and even advancing faster in some aspects.
The Hong Kong Legislative Council passed the "Stablecoin Bill" on May 21 - this is also the world's first regulatory framework for fiat - backed stablecoins. The "Stablecoin Bill" requires issuers to hold HK$25 million in paid - up share capital and maintain a 1:1 reserve of highly liquid assets (such as cash and government bonds) to ensure stability and transparency. Based on this ordinance, Hong Kong will officially establish a licensing system for fiat - backed stablecoin issuers.
On May 30, the "Stablecoin Ordinance" officially became law and will come into effect on August 1.
As Zhou Hao said, currently, Internet companies are highly concerned about stablecoins, but whether more institutions will issue stablecoins in the future depends on market demand and actual application situations. Whether the Hong Kong dollar - backed stablecoin can be widely accepted depends on its payment scenarios and circulation ability. However, as an international financial center with free capital flow, Hong Kong has natural advantages in this regard.
Reference Articles:
"Liu Qiangdong Announces Focus on Stablecoins, Big Tech Finds a 'New Gold Mine'", GeekPark
"Pan Gongsheng Mentions for the First Time, Liu Qiangdong Also Speaks Up, Stablecoins Are Booming. What Exactly Are They? What Are the Risks? Read This Article to Understand", Wall Street Insights
This article is from the WeChat official account "China Entrepreneur Magazine" (ID: iceo - com - cn), Author: Li Yanyan, published by 36Kr with authorization.