Source: Wall Street Journal
As a former core member of "WeChat Pay," JD.com Coin Chain CEO Liu Peng expressed that he has sensed a feeling similar to the brink of an explosion in Mobile Payments. In his view, payment stablecoins will serve as new financial infrastructure in the Web3 era, playing a "disruptive" positive role in international trade and other scenarios. He revealed that JD.com Coin Chain's scene testing in the "sandbox" is progressing smoothly, with plans to launch stablecoins pegged to the Hong Kong dollar and other currencies.
At the beginning of June this year, $JD.com (JD.US)$ Liu Peng, the CEO of CoinLink Technology ("JD.com CoinLink"), accepted an exclusive interview with Bloomberg, answering a series of questions regarding the future of stablecoins, application landing, and industry expansion.
As a former core member of "WeChat Pay", Liu Peng mentioned that he senses a feeling similar to the booming Mobile Payments before its explosion — in his view, payment-oriented stablecoins will act as a new financial infrastructure in the Web3 era, playing a "disruptive" positive role in scenarios such as international trade.
According to Liu Peng, many people equate payment-oriented stablecoins with Cryptos such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, which are actually completely different. The stablecoins of Web3 are like Mobile Payments of Web2; they are both payment tools aimed at achieving cost reduction and efficiency improvement, enhancing user experience, and promoting inclusive finance through advanced technologies and business models.
Liu Peng disclosed that JD.com Coin Chain hopes to obtain a stablecoin license in early Q4. Currently, the scene testing in the "sandbox" is progressing smoothly, with plans to launch stablecoins pegged to the Hong Kong dollar and other currencies. He believes that one of JD.com Coin Chain's advantages is its "cold start" scene from zero to one, namely, the JD.com e-commerce ecosystem.
The following is the full interview:
How is the progress of the stablecoin sandbox testing?
Question: In May of this year, JD.com stablecoin completed the second phase self-testing of the sandbox. What is the current progress?
Liu Peng: As of early June, we have completed testing of the HKD stablecoin and will later test other fiat stablecoins. Based on market demand, these two stablecoins are expected to be issued simultaneously.
The second phase differs from the first phase: the first phase primarily tests product functionality and technical details, while the second phase focuses on usage testing in three practical scenarios: cross-border payments, investment trades, and retail payments.
In terms of cross-border payments, we plan to expand our user base through two paths: direct connection acquisition and cooperative wholesale.
In investment trading, we are negotiating partnerships with compliant exchanges worldwide and plan to launch JD Stablecoin in different regions.
On the retail side, we will first launch on the "JD.com Global Sales Hong Kong and Macao Station," allowing users to prioritize shopping with stablecoins in JD.com’s self-operated e-commerce scenarios.
Initial Planning and Issuance.
Question: When is JD Coin expected to obtain its license? How will stablecoins be launched on exchanges? What is the initial issuance scale?
Liu Peng: The specific timeline still depends on regulatory progress.
We expect to obtain the issuance license in early Q4 2025 and simultaneously launch JD Stablecoin. The stablecoin will be issued on the public blockchain, and anyone can view its issuance volume and other data publicly.
How to stand out in a market dominated by USDT/USDC?
Question: Currently, USDT and USDC dominate cross-border payments; how can compliant stablecoins cut in?
Liu Peng: First, compliance itself is a core competitive advantage. As regulation advances and business operations take place, the market's understanding of this advantage will gradually mature. The goal of JD Stablecoin is not to be involved in Crypto-native or investment trading scenarios but to open up a new 'battlefield'—connecting the traditional cross-border trade settlement market.
This market gathers a large number of physical enterprises, cross-border trade participants, payment technology companies, etc., all of which need safe, compliant, transparent, and auditable stablecoin services.
Therefore, both in product design and customer expansion, we will be highly targeted. We expect that international trade in the Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Africa, South America, and Europe may prioritize the adoption of stablecoins issued in Hong Kong.
The cross-border payment value of stablecoins versus G10 currencies.
Question: Some founders of leading cross-border payment companies believe that stablecoins have limited value in G10 currency transactions; what is your view?
Liu Peng: Stablecoins are a system engineering project, not a single product. The competitiveness of compliant stablecoins lies not only in low cost, high efficiency, and good experience, but also in stable custody mechanisms, secure clearing channels, and reliable operational logic to protect the rights and interests of holders. We also welcome cooperation with cross-border payment companies to jointly build the stablecoin ecosystem.
Application implementation and industry expansion.
Question: Within the JD.com ecosystem, in which areas will stablecoins first be implemented? How will acceptance outside the ecosystem be improved?
Liu Peng: The JD.com stablecoin will first be applied in scenarios such as JD.com global sales and funds collection. Outside the ecosystem, we will customize stablecoin payment solutions based on differences in transaction frequency, settlement mechanisms, and other factors in various industries.
Currently, the JD.com stablecoin has reduced transfer times from "a few days" to "a few seconds," and costs are below half of traditional transfers, making on-chain fund transfers much faster. We believe these advantages will attract international trade participants.
Evolution of supply chain finance in the stablecoin era.
Question: In cross-border payment scenarios, how can supply chain finance be integrated with stablecoins?
Liu Peng: The issuer of stablecoins cannot engage in collateral, lending, or interest payments, so we will collaborate with licensed institutions that possess the necessary qualifications to provide supply chain financial services.
In terms of scheme design, we are currently sorting out the relevant scenarios for JD.com international logistics.
Theoretically, with authorization from all parties, small and medium-sized enterprises can put data such as overseas warehouse orders on the blockchain and use stablecoins for payments and financing, thereby greatly improving the efficiency of the entire process. Of course, everything must be conducted under the premise of legality and compliance.
Similarities and Differences Between Stablecoin Payments and Mobile Payments
Question: What are the similarities and differences between stablecoin payments and the mobile payments you studied back then?
Liu Peng: Many people equate payment-type stablecoins with Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptos, but they are completely different. Web3 stablecoins are like Web2 mobile payments; both are payment tools aimed at using advanced technology and business models to reduce costs and increase efficiency, enhance experiences, and promote inclusive finance.
Technically, stablecoins are based on a decentralized architecture, while mobile payments are centralized; in terms of product structure, stablecoins also include an "issuance system." Therefore, the regulation of stablecoins is more complex, and cannot rely on compliance in a single region but requires global coordination.
The Payment Status in Mainland China and the Entry Point for Stablecoins
Question: Mobile payments in the mainland have almost completely replaced cash; where might the entry point for stablecoins be?
Liu Peng: Within five years, Mobile Payments will completely surpass Cash in terms of transaction scale, user coverage, and scenario penetration. The low-cost promotion of QR codes is the core driving force—from expensive POS machines to just a few stickers, transaction costs have significantly reduced, allowing small and micro merchants to fully participate.
Of course, it cannot be said that stablecoins can 100% replace the current financial infrastructure, but it is true that there will be significant changes in a large number of physical financial service scenarios.
From a B2B perspective: large transactions may first accept stablecoins, especially in cross-border payments, which have high friction costs, significant Exchange Rates volatility, and long cycles.
From a B2C perspective: to truly stimulate users' willingness to pay, it may be necessary to create a phenomenon-level product similar to "WeChat Red Envelopes."
How to improve the stablecoin ecosystem in Hong Kong?
Liu Peng: The key is to establish a risk-based, pragmatic, flexible, and openly collaborative ecosystem based on the "Stablecoin Regulations." Regulatory agencies, issuers, wholesalers, scenario providers, users, and investors must collaborate with one another.
Funds settlement is both an endpoint and a starting point. We need to seize this breakthrough point, relying on Hong Kong's international financial and trade status, to promote the circulation and use of stablecoins issued in Hong Kong across multiple regions, further establishing Hong Kong as an international stablecoin settlement hub.
Can Hong Kong issue offshore RMB stablecoins?
Question: As Hong Kong is both a global trade center and an offshore RMB hub, will it issue an offshore RMB stablecoin?
Liu Peng: From a product technology perspective, there is not much difference between the offshore RMB stablecoin and the HKD stablecoin. Moreover, there is already a potential demand for offshore RMB stablecoins in scenarios like the CSI One Belt & One Road Index.
JD.com Coin Chain has always supported and promoted the future issuance of offshore RMB stablecoins, but it must be comprehensively considered from the perspectives of legal compliance, regulatory approval, and business logic. Whether it can ultimately be implemented still depends on the arrangements of domestic regulation.
Editor/rice
