China's P2P Stablecoin Growth
The number of unique wallets conducting peer-to-peer stablecoin transactions in China grew 43-fold between the first quarter of 2024 and the second quarter of 2026, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.
During the reporting period from July 2025 to June 2026, China recorded $104.1 billion across 18.1 million stablecoin transfers. Stablecoin holdings turned over 33.2 times per year, more than three times the global average of 9.3, suggesting users treat stablecoins as working capital.
Chainalysis estimated China's total crypto economy is worth at least $176 billion, with domestic peer-to-peer activity accounting for 59.1% of that total—3.5 times its share in the previous reporting period.
South Korea's Crypto Economy
South Korea ranks as East Asia's largest crypto economy at $449.1 billion, with activity growing 12.3% year-over-year to June 2026. Retail traders showed strong preference for artificial intelligence-linked tokens.
However, South Korean crypto exchanges faced significant headwinds in the first half of 2026. Operating profits fell 78% as trading activity, market valuations, and customer deposits declined. The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit reported that average daily trading volume at domestic exchanges fell 44%, while market capitalization dropped 33% and won-denominated deposits fell 35%.
Regional Developments
Tokenization in South Korea: Shares of tokenization platform Securitize rallied 8% following a partnership announcement with South Korean technology company LG CNS to develop tokenized assets and digital asset infrastructure. South Korea's Financial Services Commission proposed rules for tokenized securities expected to take effect in February 2027.
Singapore Institutional Expansion: Standard Chartered announced plans to launch digital asset custody services for institutional clients in Singapore. Cryptocurrency exchange Independent Reserve added cross-border payment tools and launched crypto derivatives trading through its subsidiary ReserveX. Payward and Singapore Gulf Bank partnered to enable institutional crypto settlement.
Hong Kong Regulatory Progress: Hong Kong officials reaffirmed plans to submit an amendment bill before the end of 2026 to establish licensing regimes for digital asset trading, custody, advisory, and management services. Hong Kong stands out regionally for institutional activity, with institutional platforms accounting for 16% of service inflows and the city receiving nearly $24 billion in inbound business-to-business flows.
Japan: Decentralized exchanges accounted for nearly 35% of Japan's service activity, the highest share among mature East Asian markets, with DEX activity rising more than 200% since 2022. Japan added Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex to its sanctions list over the Ukraine war.
Security Incidents
Indian authorities arrested four people in a tech-support fraud targeting US seniors, with one Florida resident losing $440,000. In Thailand, three armed assailants robbed a home and forced a transfer of $820,000 in cryptocurrency.
