What China’s first CNH stablecoin means for the future of global finance
It could turn stablecoins from trading tools into instruments of national power.
What used to be just a token of exposure is quickly turning into a token of adoption. Remember when buying Bitcoin or Ethereum was as simple as swapping into USDT? That same ease is what made stablecoins the backbone of crypto. The sector is now worth about $292 billion; not because of token hype, but because countries are finally giving them room to operate out in the open.
Now, China is adding its piece to the puzzle. At the Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong, fintech firm AnchorX unveiled AxCNH, a stablecoin pegged to the offshore yuan (CNH). The pitch here is to make cross-border payments along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries faster and cheaper. Unlike the tightly controlled onshore yuan (CNY), the offshore version already trades internationally, so this coin could, in theory, slot right into global markets.
South Korea isn’t sitting out either. Digital asset firm BDACS announced KRW1, a won-pegged stablecoin built on the same principle: full reserves, one-to-one backing with cash or government securities. For China, it’s about pushing the yuan deeper into international finance. For Korea, it’s about modernizing payments and giving the won more weight in Asia’s financial race.
David Adubiina
But here’s where it gets more interesting: stablecoins aren’t just for crypto trading anymore. They’re becoming instruments of national power. The more people use your currency abroad, the more leverage you hold in global finance. For Beijing, that means loosening the U.S. dollar’s grip on digital trade.
Right now, USDT and USDC are the digital dollars of the internet—fueling exchanges and even acting as informal cross-border rails. The yuan has never really had a seat at that table. AxCNH gives China its first shot, especially in BRI countries, where trade ties are already strong.
Of course, adoption won’t happen overnight. The offshore yuan market is still tiny compared to the dollar. And with Beijing’s long history of tight capital controls, businesses in Asia, Africa, or the Middle East may be cautious about how much freedom this experiment really allows.
David Adubiina
Still, with AxCNH and KRW1, Asian currencies are finally stepping onto the same digital playing field as the dollar and the euro. Washington already has the GENIUS Act for dollar-backed tokens, and Europe rolled out MiCA earlier this year.
For investors, the arrival of Asia-backed stablecoins means that liquidity pools, currency markets, and even bond demand could shift. The big test is what happens next: do these new stablecoins stay tucked inside crypto circles, or do they become the rails for Belt and Road economies and beyond? If it’s the latter, we might look back on this less as two product launches and more as the start of a new chapter in global finance.
