The operational launch of stablecoin payments by Trip.com (the international arm of Ctrip) marks a critical inflection point in the global financial architecture. While ostensibly a commercial upgrade for travelers, this event serves as a live “stress test” for a post-SWIFT payment rail. It occurs against a backdrop of intensified regulatory hardening in Beijing, where the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has reiterated the illegality of private stablecoins while aggressively upgrading its sovereign digital currency, the e-CNY. This report analyzes the divergence between Chinese corporate pragmatism (using US-dollar stablecoins offshore for efficiency) and state strategy (building a sovereign, surveillance-ready financial intranet).
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