Allaire: Yuan Stablecoins Could Expand Cross-Border Trade

Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of Circle, spoke in Hong Kong that yuan-pegged stablecoins could accelerate cross-border trade and attract payment flows that now route through the U.S. dollar system. His remarks coincided with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority beginning to issue stablecoin licenses in April 2026.

Allaire called an offshore yuan stablecoin a “tremendous opportunity” to expand the currency’s role in global payments and argued it could be more competitive internationally than China’s central bank digital currency, the digital yuan. He predicted a yuan-backed stablecoin could appear within three to five years.

Hong Kong enacted a Stablecoin Ordinance in August 2025 and the HKMA started granting official licenses in April 2026. On April 10, 2026, the regulator issued the first license to Anchorpoint Financial, a joint venture involving Standard Chartered and HSBC. Licensed issuers are expected to roll out regulated tokens in the second half of 2026. The licensing framework includes protections for corporate reserves held by CNY stablecoin issuers.

Corporate demand has risen for yuan-pegged tokens. Chinese firms including Ant Group and JD.com have pushed for adoption to streamline payments. JD.com reported that a yuan stablecoin could cut settlement times to under 10 seconds and reduce costs by up to 90%. Some corporate issuers plan to allow token holders to redeem at par value for the underlying fiat within one business day.

Regulated offshore CNY tokens such as AxCNH have begun operating in Belt and Road Initiative countries. AxCNH debuted in Kazakhstan to enable direct trade settlements without routing through dollar-based systems. Market participants say direct yuan stablecoin settlements can remove double-conversion fees that arise when the yuan is routed through the U.S. dollar in traditional cross-border payments.

Observers identified early corridors for adoption including Middle East-to-Asia, Singapore-to-Malaysia and Hong Kong-to-mainland China. Emerging markets in Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia are evaluating yuan stablecoins as tools where U.S. dollar liquidity is limited and as alternatives for settling trade.

Hong Kong and Shanghai are building regulated environments to integrate fiat-backed stablecoins into treasury operations and Web3 infrastructure. Regulators, banks and large corporates are running pilots, with wider institutional rollouts expected after pilots conclude later in 2026.