Alipay Denies Supporting Crypto Trading After Peer Launches USDC Service

• Alipay said it does not authorize crypto trading through third-party platforms.
• Peer announced a beta service on October 27 for trading USDC with Chinese yuan via Alipay.
• Peer reported 107 trades worth about $7,094 from 45 buyers since August 21.
• Peer later said it has no formal partnership with Alipay.
• China bans crypto trading and fiat-to-crypto exchanges under rules updated in February 2026.

Chinese payments company Alipay has denied that it supports cryptocurrency trading through outside platforms. The statement came after peer-to-peer marketplace Peer announced a service for buying and selling USDC with Chinese yuan.

Peer announced the feature on October 27. It said buyers could pay in yuan through Alipay to receive USDC, while sellers could swap the stablecoin for yuan.

Alipay responded roughly one day later. Its October 28 statement said the company does not authorize virtual currency transactions or related services on its payment network.

Alipay is live on Peer in Beta 🇨🇳

Buy USDC by paying a seller in CNY, or sell USDC and get paid in CNY on Alipay.

Guides and support in Chinese live on @Peer_zh. pic.twitter.com/rzilnjmsUU

— Peer (@peerxyz) October 27, 2026

How Peer’s USDC Service Works

Peer described the Alipay payment option as live in beta. It directed users to its Chinese-language account for instructions and customer support.

Under the setup, a buyer sends yuan directly to another user through Alipay. Once the seller confirms the payment, Peer handles the delivery of USDC.

The platform uses an onchain escrow system. The seller first deposits USDC into a smart contract, and the contract releases the coins to the buyer’s wallet after the yuan payment is verified.

Alipay does not issue USDC or run an exchange under this arrangement. However, its service would still carry the yuan side of each trade.

Peer later said it had no formal partnership with Alipay. It described the system as payments directed by individual users, not an official link with the payments company.

Peer said the arrangement had been running since August 21. In that time, it reported 107 completed trades involving 45 buyers, with total volume of about $7,094.

That works out to roughly $66.30 per trade. The figures come from Peer and have not been published by Alipay.

China’s Rules on Crypto Payments

China has restricted crypto transactions for years. Alipay has previously set up monitoring to find and limit accounts used for over-the-counter crypto trading.

In February 2026, the People’s Bank of China and seven other government departments issued updated crypto rules. They classified crypto trading, fiat-to-crypto exchanges and related services as banned financial activities.

The rules covered Bitcoin, Ether and stablecoins. Authorities said cryptocurrencies are not legal money and cannot circulate as currency in China.

In June, the central bank outlined new anti-money laundering steps. These targeted virtual currency trades, underground banking networks and cross-border financial crime.

In its October 28 statement, Alipay said, “Claims that Alipay enables crypto purchases on third-party platforms are false and unauthorized.”

The company urged customers to protect their funds and accounts. It also warned users to be careful when outside platforms advertise crypto purchases using Alipay.