How China’s increasing crypto curiosity could move the market

• China’s cabinet is considering a roadmap to boost a yuan-backed stablecoin, according to Reuters.
• The increasing appeal to enter the stablecoin market could boost the use of the Yuan and counter US Dollar dominance in the sector.
• China’s hot and cold attitude toward crypto has fueled speculation in previous cycles, driving tokens' prices in the "made in China" crypto category higher.

China may be on the brink of warming up to cryptocurrency and stablecoins, Hong Kong has made more progress than the mainland. US President Donald Trump’s second son, Eric Trump, spoke at Bitcoin Asia, a Bitcoin conference held in Hong Kong. 

The Trump administration's embrace of cryptocurrency and stablecoins has cemented the United States’ position as a leader in crypto. The narrative and focus could shift to China’s cabinet’s roadmap to boost yuan-backed stablecoins, driving gains in the “Made in China” tokens category. 

China’s Yuan-backed stablecoin

Stablecoins retain the advantages of cryptos, low-cost, faster transactions and round-the-clock settlement; over 99% of the sector is pegged to the US Dollar. This likely boosts the “dollar dominance” that rattles Beijing and drives the Chinese administration to support the adoption of yuan-backed stablecoins. 

A report from the Economist highlights the fact that China has sought to end “dollar dominance” and at the summit of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation in Tianjin on September 1, China, India, Russia, alongside seven other members, promised to settle a greater share of transactions in local currencies. 

China’s currency management has been a point of contention with major trading partners like the United States, with the Yuan-backed stablecoin, Beijing could attempt to challenge the USD’s dominance. 

China’s effect on crypto

A CNN business report shows that despite mainland China’s ban on crypto trading and mining, Hong Kong rolled out new legislation to allow businesses to tap into the $3.8 trillion digital assets market. The legislation will allow licensed businesses to issue stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies like the US Dollar. 

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) set a high bar for stablecoin issuers and will limit licenses to only a “handful” of applicants in the first round of issuance early next year. Beyond Hong Kong’s efforts to boost stablecoin adoption, it supports China’s growing interest. 

If Beijing sets its sights on internationalizing the Yuan amid rising dominance of the US dollar-backed stablecoins, it could loosen the mainland’s grip on capital movement across borders. 

The category of “Made in China” cryptos has a market capitalization of $39.57 billion with TRON, OKB and VeChain (VET) leading as the top three tokens. The 24 hour trade volume of the category exceeds $1 billion, as of September 9. 

Top 5 Made in China cryptos | Source: CoinGecko

The chart tracking the performance of top tokens in the Made in China category identifies a spike in prices on several occasions between December 2024 and August 2025, coinciding with the time when the China crypto narrative of likely adoption or the mainland lifting a ban on virtual assets became relevant on social media platforms like X. 

Performance of top Made in China cryptos | Source: CoinGecko

Despite the ban on cryptos in China, traders in the mainland trade more stablecoins than authorities track, according to the Economist. It is estimated that in 2024, Chinese traders bought $18.6 billion of stablecoins and sold $3.6billion. A large share of the transactions were on Binance, one of the largest centralized crypto exchanges. 

Traders positioning for the narrative could watch TRON, OKB and VET prices closely for gains in the coming weeks.