China’s state-asset watchdog explores potential role of stablecoins, other digital assets

The Shanghai branch of the regulator overseeing the assets of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) called on these organisations to explore the potential role of stablecoins and other digital assets in trade.

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) in Shanghai said SOEs must “maintain a keen awareness of emerging technologies” and strengthen research on digital currencies, according to the agency’s statement on Friday.

The statement followed SASAC’s study session on the “development trend and response strategies” of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins held in China’s financial hub, where the regulator urged state-backed organisations to explore the use of blockchain technology in cross-border trade, supply chain finance and asset tokenisation.

This marked an extraordinary pronouncement from the regulator amid the central government’s years-long ban on a range of crypto-related activities on the mainland, including initial coin offerings, cryptocurrency trading and bitcoin mining.

It reflects recent calls made by state media for Beijing to be more proactive in considering legislation to regulate stablecoins, while studying their potential role in making the yuan a more global currency.