Original title: "A Decade After Missing the Payment Boom, Is Richard Liu Aiming for JD's ‘Second Payment Revolution’ with Stablecoins?"

Original Author: Golem, Odaily Planet Daily

After shaking up the food delivery industry, JD.com is now accelerating its steps into the payment sector.

On June 17th, Richard Liu, Chairman of JD.com, stated, "JD aims to apply for stablecoin licenses in all major currency markets worldwide and leverage these licenses to enable global corporate remittances. This will reduce cross-border payment costs by 90% and increase efficiency to within just 10 seconds." Liu added, "Currently, it takes an average of 2 to 4 days for companies to process remittances, and the costs are relatively high. Once we complete the B2B payment system, we will begin penetrating the C2C payment sector. I hope one day people can use JD stablecoins for purchases everywhere around the globe."

Richard Liu's remarks reveal JD's ambitious plans to tap into cross-border payments using stablecoins. For most traditional Web2 tech giants in China, blockchain and other Web3-related initiatives have been strategically experimental or incubatory in nature, often confined to peripheral business operations. However, JD appears to be ahead of the curve in its exploration of blockchain and stablecoins.

As early as July 2024, JD’s subsidiary JD Chain Technology (Hong Kong) was included in the list of participants for Hong Kong's Stablecoin Issuer Sandbox Program. Additionally, stablecoins were already integrated into JD’s broader strategic development blueprint.

Just yesterday, hours ahead of the annual "6·18 Shopping Festival," Richard Liu shared with media at JD's Beijing Yizhuang headquarters in Building 1: "In the near future, we will successively launch several new initiatives, including the stablecoin already in circulation. JD doesn't plan to create brand-new business models but will instead focus on deepening and strengthening our existing seven to eight core supply chain-driven models, while also advancing our international business expansion. In summary, that’s our strategic direction." This underscores JD's significant commitment to its stablecoin endeavors.

Narrowly Missing Becoming a Payment Giant: Richard Liu's Biggest Mistake

Why is Richard Liu placing such importance on the stablecoin business? Beyond the inherent advantages of stablecoins in cross-border payments — such as instant settlements and reduced remittance costs — it may also be a way for Liu to atone for past mistakes in the payment field.

In his early years, Richard Liu publicly admitted, "The biggest mistake I ever made was not developing our own payment system after receiving funding. We always believed payment systems held little value. But with the proliferation of instant payment methods in recent years, it has become evident that to expand the customer base for financial products, developing a payment platform first is essential."

Judging by the results, this indeed appears to be a decision that Liu Qiangdong might regret. Data shows that in 2024, the transaction volume of China's third-party internet payment market was approximately RMB 33.9 trillion. In terms of market share, UnionPay Business ranked first with 26.63%, followed closely by Alipay at 20.70%, and WeChat Pay at 18.31%. However, JD Pay accounted for merely 1-3% of the market share. In the consumer (C-end) mobile payment sector, Alipay and WeChat Pay have formed a “duopoly,” with a combined market share exceeding 90%, making it unrealistic for JD to capture the domestic payment market.

However, in the cross-border payment space, Liu Qiangdong might genuinely have an opportunity to seize market share through stablecoins. Currently, both cross-border digital RMB and third-party cross-border payment systems are still in the development phase. But China’s cross-border payments are still dominated by the banking system (CIPS). In 2024, CIPS processed 8.2169 million transactions with a total value of RMB 175.49 trillion. Although the cross-border digital RMB pilot program covered 129 countries and regions in the same year, its annual service volume was RMB 7.5 trillion. For third-party cross-border payment systems such as Alipay and WeChat Pay cross-border solutions, the combined market size of cross-border e-commerce payments and B2B foreign trade payments in 2024 was RMB 1.534 trillion.

Although traditional internet-based third-party cross-border payment systems exhibit clear advantages over bank systems in terms of cost, speed, and user experience, they still heavily depend on banking networks for clearing. Moreover, they face challenges such as difficulty in obtaining licenses, inability to handle large-scale settlements, and insufficient guarantees for fund security. This limits their business mostly to small- and medium-sized e-commerce transactions, leaving them unable to compete with banking systems for high-value transactions.

In the context of cross-border payments, stablecoins stand out as a solution that can effectively address these issues faced by third-party payment systems. On one hand, stablecoins are pegged to fiat currencies but do not rely on bank systems for settlement—they use blockchain networks for real-time clearing. On the other hand, in theory, stablecoins can be globally circulated as long as they receive regulatory approval locally. Furthermore, the global regulatory landscape is increasingly embracing stablecoins, lowering compliance barriers for their adoption.

The Advantages of Stablecoins over Traditional Banks and Third-Party Payment Systems in Cross-Border Payments

A true entrepreneur must excel at learning from past mistakes. Between 2007 and 2008, during the rise of third-party internet payments, Liu Qiangdong failed to accurately assess the market, missing the golden window to grow JD's domestic payment business. Today, however, the U.S. market and regulators have accelerated global interest and acceptance of stablecoins, leading enterprises and regulatory bodies worldwide to focus on this innovation. Stablecoins are poised to reshape the cross-border payment landscape, and this time, JD has not missed its chance.

Stablecoins Become a Key Component of JD.com’s Internationalization Efforts

JD.com’s exploration of blockchain began as early as 2016, with subsequent launches of its alliance chain "JD Chain," a blockchain anti-counterfeiting and traceability platform, and the NFT platform "Lingxi." However, compared to its main business, these ventures were more experimental and exploratory, falling under peripheral operations that were not integrated into its core strategic framework.

In July 2024, JD Technology Group’s subsidiary, JD Digital Chain Technology (Hong Kong), appeared on the Hong Kong stablecoin issuer "sandbox" participant list and announced its plans to issue a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the Hong Kong dollar, officially marking JD.com’s entry into the stablecoin space.

After a year of exploration, in May 2025, JD Digital Chain Technology’s CEO, Liu Peng, announced advancements in JD.com’s stablecoin project. "The first phase of JD.com’s stablecoin initiative is tentatively focused on issuing stablecoins pegged to the Hong Kong dollar and the U.S. dollar, with test use cases including cross-border payments, investment transactions, and retail payments."

It wasn’t until June 17, when Richard Liu, the founder of JD.com, mentioned stablecoins in JD.com’s future strategy, that the role of the stablecoin initiative within JD.com’s overall strategy became clear. "The most important aspect for the future is internationalization," Richard Liu highlighted when discussing the company’s strategy with reporters. "JD.com’s international business will not follow a cross-border e-commerce model. My international strategy focuses on local e-commerce platforms, local infrastructure, local employees, local procurement, local deliveries, and selling only branded products."

On June 18, Liu Peng, CEO of JD Digital Chain Technology, stated that "JD.com’s Hong Kong and Macau self-operated e-commerce platform will soon support shopping with stablecoins. JD Digital Chain plans to obtain relevant licenses by early Q4 2025 and simultaneously launch stablecoins pegged to the Hong Kong dollar and other major currencies."

This may also explain Richard Liu’s broader vision of applying for stablecoin licenses in all countries with major currencies, using stablecoins to settle international operations. This would not only avoid the complications of multi-currency conversions and exchange rate fluctuations across countries but would also enable JD.com to build a unified global settlement network.

"Regrettably, over the past five years, JD.com hasn’t achieved anything new. To be honest, the past five years can be described as JD.com’s five years of stagnation, a five-year decline. I can say this without reservation — it has been the least innovative, least growth-oriented, and least valuable five years in my entrepreneurial history." Richard Liu expressed with a hint of regret.

The aggressive expansion into the food delivery industry, stablecoins, and internationalization might just be Richard Liu’s response to reflecting on JD.com’s recent performance. How JD.com will fare in its next five years will not only reshape the landscape of China’s internet and financial sectors but also serve as a test of its transformation on a global scale.

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