China lawmakers to consider loosening hard stance on digital assets amid stablecoin wave: report

China lawmakers held a meeting with local government officials to reevaluate its stance on digital assets, more specifically stablecoins and cryptocurrency. The government is being urged to consider yuan-based stablecoins amid the ban on crypto.

According to a recent report by Reuters, Chinese regulators held a meeting with local officials to discuss how they would strategically approach stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies. Insiders say that the meeting was held on July 10, organized by the Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

In a recent post shared on the agency’s WeChat account, Director of Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, He Qing, said that the government needs to have “greater sensitivity to emerging technologies and enhanced research into digital currencies.”

As of now, China has not officially issued a yuan-pegged stablecoin itself. However, there are private companies that have created yuan-pegged stablecoins, and China is actively working on its own central bank digital currency called the digital yuan.

The move to formalize stablecoins may be a difficult one, considering China banned cryptocurrency trading and mining back in 2021.

The meeting comes at a time when companies and experts are pushing Chinese regulators to issue yuan-pegged stablecoins, following in the footsteps of other Asian regions such as Hong Kong and South Korea.

South Korea’s new president is currently working towards advancing Korean won-pegged stablecoins. Hong Kong has taken it one step further by passing the Stablecoin Ordinance, which will come into effect on August 1.

Meanwhile in the U.S., the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act or GENIUS Act recently received a majority approval vote from the Senate. It is now headed for a House of Representative vote at the end of July.

Much like how Ant Group and JD.com are planning to issue Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoins once they are granted licenses from the Hong Kong Special Administration, U.S. companies such as Amazon and Walmart are also seeking to launch their own dollar-backed stablecoins.