Asia Morning Briefing | 22 September 2025
A BYD Dolphin Mini sold in Bolivia for USDT illustrates the irony of China’s de-dollarization agenda. While Beijing urges emerging markets to adopt the yuan, the reality on the ground is that crypto-dollars—not RMB—are driving everyday trade.
In La Paz, billboards advertise a bright green Dolphin Mini, a symbol of China’s export reach across Latin America. Yet despite being sold in a BRICS nation, the EV is purchased with USDT, a stablecoin backed by U.S. Treasuries—the very assets China has been reducing from its reserves.
China has invested heavily in promoting yuan settlement in the region. Bolivia clears about 10% of its trade in RMB, Brazil has renewed a 190 billion yuan ($26 billion) swap line, and Argentina taps renminbi liquidity to avoid default.
Still, retail commerce tells a different story. For consumers and merchants in inflation-ridden or capital-controlled economies, USDT offers something the yuan cannot: offshore usability, deep liquidity, and fast settlement. Beijing’s tightly managed currency is designed for domestic policy goals, not as a global medium of exchange.
The result is a paradox. China’s exports—from soybeans and lithium to buses and EVs—expand its trade footprint but simultaneously fuel USDT demand. Stablecoins have quietly become the preferred rails for emerging-market commerce, offering speed, convertibility, and trust where RMB swap lines and CBDC pilots fall short.
Despite years of rhetoric, Beijing’s digital yuan remains largely confined to domestic pilots, while talk of a BRICS reserve currency has yet to materialize. In practice, it is USDT—the tokenized dollar—that dominates grassroots trade. Far from eroding the dollar’s power, de-dollarization has given rise to a new form of digital-dollar dominance.
Unless China can align its export strength with a more globalized currency strategy, its monetary influence will remain limited. Latin America’s financial landscape is shifting—but the beneficiaries are stablecoins, not the RMB.
Market Update
- Bitcoin (BTC): Holding above $114.5K, slightly weaker intraday. Resistance sits near $115K–$117K as institutional interest and U.S. rate cut expectations support demand.
- Ethereum (ETH): Trading at $4,400, showing mild pressure. Momentum remains soft, though ETF inflows closed last week with $556M in gains.
- Gold: Near record highs, supported by central bank demand, dollar weakness, and inflation concerns, alongside expectations for Fed rate cuts.
- Nikkei 225: Rose 1.28% Monday after China left loan prime rates unchanged, with regional markets following Wall Street’s positive lead.
