Cryptocurrency, with a legitimate new identity, is making a comeback into the mainstream.
Source: Geek Park (ID: geekpark)
Author: Su Zihua
Original Title: Liu Qiangdong Announces Focus on Stablecoins, Major Companies Have Found a "New Gold Mine"
Stablecoins are on fire.
They may be the hottest tech concept in June, aside from AI. The enthusiasm of major internet companies for stablecoins has brought them back into the mainstream spotlight.
On June 17, 2025, Liu Qiangdong, Chairman of the Board of JD Group, stated at a sharing session: "JD will apply for stablecoin licenses in major currency countries around the world, aiming to reduce cross-border payment costs by 90% and transfer times to within 10 seconds."
This may be the first time a founder or CEO of a major Chinese internet company has publicly stated their plans for cryptocurrency.
Stablecoins, in essence, are also a type of cryptocurrency.
Unlike cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, which experience severe price fluctuations, stablecoins maintain price stability by being pegged to fiat currencies (such as the US dollar, Hong Kong dollar, etc.) or assets.
Their main advantages are cost and efficiency. Research from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) shows that the efficiency of cross-border payments using stablecoins can be 100 times higher than traditional payments, with costs reduced by more than 90%.
This financial technology sector, which has long existed in the "gray area" and remained niche, is now exploding. According to public data, as of May 2025, the total market value of global stablecoins has surpassed $24.63 billion, growing nearly 50 times since 2019.
Moreover, on June 5, the first stablecoin concept stock, Circle, was listed on the New York Stock Exchange, with its stock price soaring 168% on the first day, pushing its market value beyond $1.83 billion, despite having fewer than 1,000 employees. Circle's listing has also greatly boosted confidence among other stablecoin companies. Recently, tech giants like Ant Group, Walmart, and Amazon have been actively advancing their own stablecoin projects.
In 2014, when JD went public in the US, Liu Qiangdong admitted that the biggest mistake was not entering the payment space earlier, falling far behind Alipay and WeChat Pay.
Now, amidst the wave of cross-border e-commerce and the influx of major companies, stablecoins have clearly become a new opportunity in the payment sector that cannot be missed.
How will the future of using stablecoins to purchase overseas goods and conduct cross-border transfers gradually become a reality? Will stablecoins become the next main battlefield for the giants?
What exactly is JD's stablecoin?
According to information disclosed by JD, its stablecoin is called JD-HKD, which is a cryptocurrency pegged 1:1 to the Hong Kong dollar (HKD). This means that for every stablecoin issued, there is an equivalent high-liquidity asset (cash, government bonds, etc.) worth 1 HKD as support, held in custody by a licensed bank and audited regularly.
JD's stablecoin is issued by JD Coin Chain Technology (Hong Kong) Limited, a subsidiary of JD.
This company was registered in March 2024 and holds licenses No. 1, 4, and 9 issued by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, covering securities trading, asset management, and blockchain technology development.
JD Stablecoin Official Website | Image Source: Internet
Currently, JD's stablecoin has entered the second phase of testing in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's "Stablecoin Issuer Sandbox." (The "sandbox" allows institutions intending to issue stablecoins in Hong Kong to test their operational plans, facilitating two-way communication to explore compliant regulatory systems.)
So, what is the purpose of JD's stablecoin?
Liu Peng, CEO of JD Coin Chain Technology, explained in a May interview with TECHHUB NEWS that the application scenarios being tested for JD's stablecoin mainly include cross-border payments, investment trading, and retail payments.
Based on public information, the specifics are as follows:
In terms of cross-border payments, currently, cross-border payments mainly rely on the SWIFT system, which requires 2-4 days for transfers, with fees accounting for 1-3% of the transaction amount. Stablecoins can reduce the time to seconds and cut costs by 90%.
In investment trading, JD is collaborating with compliant cryptocurrency exchanges to support institutional and retail investors in digital asset trading, providing stable pricing and settlement tools.
In retail payments, JD is integrating with e-commerce platforms like JD's Hong Kong and Macau sites to support consumers in paying directly with JD-HKD.
It is clear that JD's ambitions in payments cover both B2B and B2C sectors.
As Liu Qiangdong mentioned in his June 17 sharing, "After completing B2B payments, we will penetrate into C2C payments, hoping that one day everyone can use JD stablecoins for consumption worldwide."
The impact of stablecoins on traditional payment systems presents opportunities for e-commerce giants, signifying lower transaction costs, faster capital turnover, and the chance to overtake in the cross-border trade market.
Additionally, stablecoins themselves are also a business with relatively high profit margins.
Taking Circle, which just saw its stock surge after going public, as an example, its net profit for 2023 was $268 million, and for 2024, it is projected to be $156 million.
Circle's main sources of income are twofold:
- Reserve interest income: The fiat currency funds users use to purchase stablecoins can be invested in low-risk assets (such as US government bonds), earning interest spreads. According to financial reports, this income accounted for 99% of total revenue in 2024, indicating a high dependence on interest rates in its business model.
- Transaction fees: Service fees charged for cross-border payments, currency exchanges, and other scenarios.
This can be likened to the business model of JD's stablecoin, which will not be elaborated further here.
Major Companies Competing for Stablecoins, Gathering in Hong Kong
JD is not the only giant targeting stablecoins. Global internet and financial giants have already taken notice.
For instance, in June, Ant International and Ant Digital announced plans to apply for stablecoin licenses in Hong Kong and Singapore. Ant Digital has established Hong Kong as its global headquarters and is testing stablecoin applications in a regulatory sandbox, focusing on global treasury management and cross-border payments.
Meanwhile, Amazon and Walmart, as retail platforms, have similar logic for entering the stablecoin space as JD. Walmart is attempting to attract users underserved by traditional banks through the low fees of stablecoins and expand into emerging markets.
Xiaomi has chosen a lighter approach, with its Tianxing Bank collaborating with JD Coin Chain to develop cross-border payment solutions.
Additionally, traditional payment providers (such as Visa and PayPal) have also launched their own stablecoin solutions, attempting to maintain market share through partnerships.
For these giants, Hong Kong is an excellent location for stablecoin deployment. Hong Kong's unique advantages lie in its status as an international financial center, a mature regulatory system, and its connectivity with the mainland.
In May 2025, Hong Kong passed the "Stablecoin Ordinance," establishing the world's first regulatory framework for fiat-backed stablecoins, requiring issuers to hold a paid-up capital of HKD 25 million and maintain reserves of high-liquidity assets (such as cash and government bonds) at a 1:1 ratio to ensure stability and transparency.
This ordinance will take effect in August 2025.
Thus, a competitive landscape has emerged in Hong Kong's stablecoin ecosystem, with three types of powerful players vying for dominance:
Chinese tech giants: JD, Ant Group, Xiaomi, etc., leveraging e-commerce scenarios and user bases to capture cross-border payment opportunities;
Traditional financial institutions: Standard Chartered Bank, Hong Kong Telecom, JPMorgan Chase, etc., focusing on stablecoin issuance, trading, and derivative businesses, targeting the global financial market;
Web3 companies: Such as Yuan Coin Technology, which issues the HKD-pegged stablecoin HKDR;
The current popularity of stablecoins is largely due to the gradual improvement of regulations. As places like Hong Kong, the US, and the EU accelerate legislation, stablecoins are moving from the "gray area" to compliance, allowing major companies and institutions to enter the market confidently.
Standard Chartered Bank predicts that the global stablecoin market will reach $2 trillion by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate of 58%.
Just as WeChat Pay reshaped the mobile payment ecosystem, stablecoins may become the "new SWIFT" in the digital age. With more heavyweight players entering the fray, the competition for dominance in the next generation of global payment networks has already begun.
Regulatory compliance, payment experience, and other factors remain key variables, and their progress may profoundly impact our daily payment habits and even the future landscape of global payments.
Header image source: Visual China
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