Jessy, Jinse Finance
On July 10, the Party Committee of the Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission held a central group learning meeting, focusing on the development trends and response strategies of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. As soon as this news was released, it was considered a major signal of further opening up stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies domestically.
On July 11, Bitcoin once again broke through to a new high, with a generally bullish market. Some in the crypto community began to joke that mysterious Eastern forces were once again driving a new round of market ascent.
Hong Kong and A-share stocks related to stablecoins and crypto concepts also ushered in a new round of price increases. For example, Guotai Junan International (01788) reached a new historical high on July 11, rising from 1.42 Hong Kong dollars to 7.07 Hong Kong dollars since June 25.
Recently, news of mainland Chinese and Hong Kong enterprises entering the stablecoin market or opening virtual currency-related services has been continuously emerging, such as Ant International accessing USDC and JD entering the stablecoin market.
Signal Release
In the official announcement, this learning session by the Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission focused on "stablecoins, their development trends, risks, and responses", clearly concentrating on stablecoins, with the Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission taking the lead, which the market views as carrying a policy signal.
The Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission plays a crucial role in the financial system. On one hand, as China's financial center, its state-owned asset system oversees numerous core enterprises directly related to finance, including Shanghai International Group, Shanghai Bank, and Guotai Junan, with important layouts in securities, trust, funds, leasing, and other fields. On the other hand, the Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission has always had strong execution and guidance in promoting local financial reform, supporting digital finance pilots, and participating in policy implementation.
Especially against the backdrop of Hong Kong's relatively clear virtual asset regulatory framework and open qualified trading platforms, the market cannot help but widely speculate whether mainland China is "quietly following up" - what layout will China have next in the stablecoin and cryptocurrency fields?
Previous research reports from securities firms like CITIC Securities have repeatedly mentioned that "stablecoins may become part of cross-border RMB experiments", and RMB stablecoins have been widely discussed in recent months.
Shanghai indeed has some state-owned enterprises already trying new things like stablecoins and RWA. It can be seen that mainland China is conducting small-scale pilots on how to access the crypto industry, and this learning initiative by the Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission is a signal captured by the public.
Stocks of state-owned or semi-state-owned enterprises related to crypto have also seen significant increases under this signal release. For example, Guotai Junan International Holdings successfully upgraded its securities license to a virtual asset trading and consulting license on June 24, becoming the first Chinese securities firm with this qualification. On the day the news was released, its stock price jumped from around 1.42 Hong Kong dollars to a high of 3.7 Hong Kong dollars, an increase of nearly 100%, and continued to rise strongly in the following days, reaching 7.07 Hong Kong dollars on the 11th. At the same time, First Shanghai, Shenwan Hongyuan Hong Kong, Hongye Futures, and Zhongzhou Securities also rose, with increases mostly between 10-25%. The entire "stablecoin + state-owned assets" concept sector formed a rotation effect, driving related stocks to collectively strengthen, becoming an unavoidable force in this round of rise.
Enterprises Are Eager
With such an obvious national signal, enterprises are also rushing to follow up.
According to Bloomberg, Ant Group's Ant International plans to collaborate with Circle, intending to integrate the US dollar stablecoin USDC, currently waiting for USDC to receive US regulatory approval before going online. Ant International is an independently operated entity established by Ant in Singapore, which has rapidly developed since its establishment in 2023, currently processing about $1 trillion in cross-border transactions. The company also plans to apply for stablecoin issuance licenses in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Luxembourg.
In the market's view, USDC, as a relatively compliant stablecoin with close ties to US regulators, would signify a certain degree of policy consultation or tacit approval if accessed by a large Chinese tech enterprise.
JD, through its subsidiary JD Coin Chain Technology (Hong Kong), has applied for a stablecoin issuance license and has joined the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's stablecoin sandbox program. Currently, JD's goal is to obtain licenses in multiple sovereign monetary countries, initially focusing on B2B trade and supply chain scenarios, then expanding to consumer payments and internal e-commerce transaction systems.
Behind Bitcoin's breakthrough to a new high, is there truly a "mysterious Eastern force" driving it? Perhaps it cannot be technically verified. But currently, there are indeed increasing policy actions from mainland China and Hong Kong, collective trials by state-owned assets, and rapid deployment by tech giants, which may be constructing a powerful signal.
However, it is undeniable that the mysterious Eastern force of policy, capital, and industry's tripartite collaboration on Eastern soil is more of a catalyst for market sentiment. The core ban on domestic cryptocurrency trading in mainland China remains unchanged. But in the capital market, rising sentiment is sufficient.
