Shanghai SASAC studies stablecoins. Will a mysterious oriental force help push BTC to a new high?

Jessy, Golden Finance

On July 10, the Party Committee of the Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission held a central group study meeting to study the development trends and response strategies of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. As soon as this news came out, it was considered a major signal for the further opening of stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies in China.

On July 11, Bitcoin also broke through a new high again, and the market rose generally. Some people in the crypto community also began to joke that it was the mysterious Eastern power that once again pushed the market up a new round.

Hong Kong stocks and A shares involving stablecoins and crypto-related concepts have also ushered in a new round of price increases. For example, Guotai Junan International (01788) hit a new record high on July 11. Since June 25, the stock has risen from HK$1.42 to HK$7.07.

Recently, news has been coming out that related companies in mainland China and Hong Kong have entered the stablecoin market or opened virtual currency-related services, such as Ant International will access USDC, JD.com has entered the stablecoin market, and so on.

Signal Release

In the official announcement, the study of Shanghai SASAC this time revolved around "stablecoins and their development trends, risks and responses", clearly focusing on stablecoins, and the Shanghai SASAC took the lead in learning, which was regarded by the market as having a policy signal effect.

The Shanghai SASAC plays a very critical role in the financial system. On the one hand, as China's financial center, Shanghai's state-owned assets system has a large number of core enterprises directly related to finance, including Shanghai International Group, Shanghai Bank, Guotai Junan, etc., and has important layouts in securities, trusts, funds, leasing and other fields. On the other hand, the Shanghai SASAC has always had strong execution and guidance in promoting local financial reforms, supporting digital financial pilots, and participating in policy implementation.

Especially in the context of Hong Kong's relatively clear introduction of a virtual asset regulatory framework and the opening of qualified trading platforms, whether mainland China has "followed up in a low-key manner" to some extent has also triggered widespread speculation in the market-what layout will China have in the field of stablecoins and cryptocurrencies next?

Previously, research reports released by CITIC Securities and other securities firms also mentioned many times that "stablecoins may become part of the cross-border RMB experiment", and RMB stablecoins have also been widely discussed in recent months.

In Shanghai, some state-owned enterprises have indeed been trying new things such as stablecoins and RWA. It can be seen that how mainland China should access the encryption industry is also being piloted on a small scale, and the Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission's leading learning is a signal captured by the public.

And the stocks of state-owned or semi-state-owned companies related to encryption have also ushered in a sharp rise in stocks under the release of this signal. For example, Guotai Junan International Holdings Co., Ltd. successfully obtained approval to upgrade its securities license to a virtual asset trading and consulting license on June 24, becoming the first Chinese securities firm with this qualification. On the day the news was released, the stock price jumped from about HK$1.42 to a maximum of HK$3.7, an increase of nearly 100%. It continued to rise strongly in the following days, rising to a maximum of HK$7.07 on the 11th. At the same time, Chinese securities firms such as First Shanghai, Shenwan Hongyuan Hong Kong, Hongye Futures, and Zhongzhou Securities also rose, with the increase ranging from 10-25%. The entire "stable currency + state-owned assets" concept sector has formed a rotation effect, driving the collective strength of related stocks, becoming a force that cannot be ignored in this round of rise.

Enterprises are anxious

The national signal is so obvious that companies are also following up.

According to Bloomberg, Ant International, a subsidiary of Ant Group, plans to cooperate with Circle to connect the US dollar stablecoin USDC. It is still waiting for USDC to obtain US regulatory approval before it can go online. Ant International is an independent operating entity established by Ant in Singapore. It has developed rapidly since its establishment in 2023 and has currently processed about US$1 trillion in cross-border transactions. The company also plans to apply for stablecoin issuance licenses in Hong Kong, Singapore, Luxembourg and other places.

From the market's perspective, USDC, as a relatively compliant stablecoin with close regulatory ties to the United States, is undoubtedly a sign of policy negotiation or acquiescence if it is accessed by large Chinese technology companies.

JD.com has applied for a stablecoin issuance license through its subsidiary JD.com CoinChain Technology (Hong Kong), and has now joined the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's stablecoin sandbox program. At present, JD.com's goal is to obtain licenses in multiple sovereign currency countries around the world, focusing on B2B trade and supply chain scenarios in the initial stage, and then expanding to consumer payments and e-commerce internal transaction systems.

Is there really a "mysterious oriental force" behind Bitcoin's breakthrough to a new high? Perhaps it cannot be confirmed from a technical perspective. But there are indeed more and more policy actions from mainland China and Hong Kong, collective testing of state-owned capital, and rapid deployment of technology giants, which may be forming a powerful signal.

But it is undeniable that the mysterious oriental force of the three-party synergy of policy, capital, and industry in the East is more of a catalyst for market sentiment, and the core ban on cryptocurrency trading in mainland China has not been shaken. But in the capital market, the rise and the sentiment are enough.