Point of View: Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) and Stablecoins are more complementary than opposed to each other, but there is competition in terms of user mindset and payment gateways

September 15th. According to Caixin, Liu Xingliang, a member of the Expert Committee on Information and Communication Economy of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, pointed out that the People's Bank Digital Currency (the Hong Kong version of the "Fiat-Anchored Stablecoin") is issued by licensed institutions and requires a 1:1 high-quality reserve. It also involves transparent supervision and custody arrangements, making it closer to commercial innovation and the Web3 ecosystem. Stablecoins in on-chain scenarios, with 24x7 cross-platform clearing and settlement, DeFi/Blockchain Games/Real World Assets (RWA) tokenization, and other "native on-chain" ecosystems are more flexible. However, they need strong constraints to prevent runs and on-chain risk spillovers. Regarding cross-border and interoperability, the digital yuan focuses more on official cross-border interconnection (such as the mBridge wholesale multi-CBDC platform), emphasizing instant and atomic settlement as well as compliance. Stablecoins are naturally accessible across borders 24x7 and connected to global on-chain liquidity. However, anti-money laundering/sanctions compliance and reserve security are key. The digital yuan represents the "national-level base" (stability and regulation), while stablecoins represent the "market-oriented frontend" (agility and speed). They complement each other more than they oppose each other, but there will be some competition in user perception and payment gateways.