Shanghai’s state property regulator held a closed doors council meeting last week to study stablecoins and Blockchain Infrastructure signalling potential pilots in urban-owned businesses despite China’s nationwide encryption ban.
Chaired by He Qing, director of the Shanghai State Asset Supervision and Management Committee (SASAC), the meeting discussed how state-owned companies can use blockchain-based technologies for cross-border trade, supply chain management and asset digitization.
Qing needs “more sensitivity to new technologies and strengthening research into digital currencies.” Reuters.
The session was framed as a routine political research conference, but the focus on Stablecoins suggests a more pointed shift in policy thinking, a week after Shenzen civil servants issued public warnings about Stablecoin fraud.
This shift has attracted attention from observers who are considered part of a broader readjustment in China’s digital finance playbook.
“We’re looking forward to seeing the latest developments in our onchain Capital Allocator, Sam Macpherson, CEO and co-founder of Phoenix Labs, the core developer of Spark, the Onchain Capital Allocator. Decryption.
But instead of signaling crypto liberalization, MacPherson said the move reflects controlled experiments on state-oriented currency infrastructure. “This allows regulators to test blockchain-based payments within tight capital control guardrails,” he explained.
McPherson cites aggressive jurisdictions and comes as the demand for absurd infrastructure has achieved incredible growth across Asia. defi Ecosystems in Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and other countries.
Critical Demand, Layered Experiments
At the 2025 Lujazzi Forum in Shanghai last month, People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng made his first public speech that marked a shift in tone from the country’s central bank.
Accepting their potential, Pan warned that technologies such as blockchain and distributed ledgers would rapidly rebuild payment systems, shorten cross-border settlement chains, and pose urgent regulatory challenges.
“These innovations accelerate the development of central bank digital currencies and stubcoins, rebuilding traditional payment and settlement systems,” Pan said in Mandarin, according to a browser-based translation of a browser-based report from a Beijing-based independent outlet. Kaishin.
But elsewhere in cities close to Chinese authority, stubcoin remains a policy frontier. It is closely monitored and carefully tested.
These moves from China are consistent with “Hong Kong’s long-standing stance on positive digital assets,” McPherson said.
“Broadening the border, Shenzhen remains more vigilant under mainland governance,” he said. However, if a particular project indicates “proof of concept is that stubcoins can move forward,” other cities could “likely open the door to similar adoption.”
The combination of top-down adjustments and localized experiments reflect China’s digital asset strategy, McPherson argued.
“What may seem like divergence is actually a hierarchical experiment,” he said.
