Bank of Communications has launched a cross-border trade service solution built on the "Shubianda" (CBETS) blockchain infrastructure during the 26th China International Fair for Investment and Trade in Xiamen, according to ChainCatcher. The release was made under the guidance of the People’s Bank of China. The plan is aimed at cross-border trade settlement and compliance requirements, using on-chain rights confirmation and smart contracts to improve coordination across capital flows, information flows, and document flows. Built on the Shubianda platform, the solution supports participation by multiple parties and data sharing. It is designed for import and export companies, financial institutions, and regulatory authorities, offering services such as cross-border payments and receipts as well as trade background verification. The bank said the plan is intended to reduce compliance costs, shorten settlement cycles, and leave room for future integration with the digital yuan and cross-border financial infrastructure.

Real-world asset activity and stablecoin policy both moved this week. As of Aug. 14, 2026, on-chain RWA market capitalization reached $38.29 billion, while the number of holders climbed to 1.7935 million, according to RWA.xyz data cited by PANews. In stablecoins, total market value slipped slightly to $297.91 billion, but transfer volume and monthly active addresses both fell, pointing to a quieter on-chain period even as holder counts kept growing. On the policy side, the People’s Bank of China said in its 15th Five-Year reform and development plan that it will steadily develop the digital yuan. In Europe, officials decided to revise the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, or MiCA, with a focus on the market access rules that have left non-EU stablecoin issuers such as Tether outside the bloc. The U.K. advanced the second phase of its digital pound lab and also began work on a regulatory framework for tokenized gold. At the project level, Anchorpoint, the Hong Kong licensed stablecoin issuer backed by Standard Chartered, HKT and Animoca Brands, launched the first phase of issuance and institutional use for HKDAP. HashKey Exchange and OSL joined as recognized distributors. Elsewhere, NYSE, Itaú Unibanco, Coinbase, LG CNS, Miden, Dow Protocol and Rain each disclosed new tokenization, stablecoin or funding developments during the week.

Guangdong’s commerce department has released a draft plan for the Guangdong Free Trade Zone, titled the "15th Five-Year" development plan (2026-2030). The draft calls for expanding the cross-border digital yuan payment pilot and keeps the public consultation period open until Sept. 5. It also seeks to broaden digital yuan use cases inside the free trade zone, support offshore finance and cross-border wealth management, and allow financial institutions to develop cross-border supply chain finance products. The draft further encourages international financial institutions to set up regional headquarters in the zone. The proposal comes after China and Singapore completed their first cross-border digital yuan payment through the upgraded CBETS platform, according to the report.

Guangdong has put forward a package of measures to expand digital yuan application scenarios and enlarge cross-border payment pilots. The plan covers Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect and digital yuan cross-border payments, according to a draft released for public consultation. The measures appear in the China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone development plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan period (draft for comments), as reported by Jinshi. The draft calls for upgrading fintech regulatory pilots and broadening digital yuan use cases. It supports offshore finance, green finance and other cross-border financial innovation businesses. Financial institutions operating in the zone would be encouraged to develop cross-border supply chain finance and intellectual property pledge financing products, and market entities would be guided to create composite financial products. The document also sets out plans to deepen pilots for cross-border credit asset transfers and multi-currency integrated accounts, with the aim of achieving mutual recognition and interoperability for cross-border financial products on a larger scale. All the proposals are now open for public comment.

Starting June 1, 2025, China enforces a sweeping ban on holding, trading, and mining cryptocurrencies, making the digital yuan the only legal tender. Offshore stablecoins are also restricted, dimming Hong Kong's crypto hub ambitions.

China's PBOC and seven agencies issued revised rules on Friday, banning unauthorized offshore yuan-pegged stablecoins, bringing RWA tokenization under regulatory control for the first time, and reaffirming crypto business as illegal while pushing the digital yuan.

China’s digital yuan has been used in the domestic futures market for the first time, with Dalian Commodity Exchange completing a storage fee payment supported by Bank of Communications and Bank of China.

Chinese experts say the trial-stage digital yuan could expand the renminbi’s international use, especially through cross-border payments and e-commerce, as the PBOC explores pilot programs for e-CNY settlements.