Author: Ivan Wu on Blockchain
Jack Ma's attempts in the cryptocurrency field revolve around the layout of "Jack Ma's system" in crypto infrastructure, with the narrative centered on the technology line of AntChain: starting from enterprise-level consortium chains and industry applications, extending to the ZAN component tool and open-source DTVM, and launching the Ethereum-based layer two Jovay (without issuing tokens) aimed at RWA, forming a deep integration path with the Ethereum ecosystem. After many internet and financial companies briefly tested blockchain and subsequently abandoned it, AntChain has become a rare case of sustained commitment.
On the asset side, Yunfeng Financial has reached a strategic cooperation with Ant Digital Technologies and invested in the public chain foundation Pharos. On September 2, it accumulated the purchase of 10,000 ETH with its own funds and recorded it as an "investment," intending to provide verifiable settlement and reserve assets for compliant scenarios such as RWA and insurance, with the listed company's treasury undertaking the technical implementation. The focus of investment has correspondingly shifted: the early overseas equity window A&T Capital has significantly slowed down after 2023, with "functional reserves + compliant implementation" becoming the main line, overlapping with the closed loop of "technology - business - assets."
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I. AntChain: From Consortium Chain to Web3-oriented "Componentization," Merging Technology and Asset Lines
On September 1, Yunfeng Financial (00376.HK) announced a strategic cooperation with Ant Group's technology commercialization entity Ant Digital Technologies, and simultaneously made a strategic investment in the public chain Pharos, with a clear direction towards "advancing the tokenization of RWA (real-world assets) and Web3 scenarios on the high-performance foundation of Pharos under compliance." The next day (September 2), Yunfeng Financial further disclosed that it had cumulatively purchased 10,000 ETH (approximately $44 million) in the open market, with funds coming from the company's internal cash reserves, and recorded it as an investment asset; the board also authorized adjustments to the reserve scale "in a timely manner based on market, regulatory, and company financial conditions." The announcement also revisited the established direction of "increasing digital currency investment" proposed on July 14.
Looking back at 2020, Ant launched the "AntChain" brand and introduced the integrated hardware and software AntChain Station; official materials state that this solution is used to shorten the deployment time of enterprise blockchain and improve transaction processing efficiency, serving as the starting point for engineering implementation. Subsequent external materials frequently mention indicators such as "large-scale accounts and high concurrency processing capabilities."
Currently, the application layer of AntChain is mainly reflected in cross-border trade scenarios, with Trusple providing performance and financing services for SMEs based on AntChain, collaborating with multiple international banks to form verifiable processes around orders, payment commitments, and clearing and settlement; in judicial and copyright scenarios, AntChain's digital copyright service platform covers registration, evidence collection, and rights protection processes, aimed at enhancing the verifiability and tamper-proof attributes of evidence.
In 2023, AntChain launched ZAN in Hong Kong, providing node services, identity compliance (KYC/AML), contract auditing, and acceleration tools; in April 2025, it will open-source DTVM (DeTerministic Virtual Machine), which is based on Wasm, maintains EVM ABI compatibility, and introduces deterministic intermediate representation and related development/audit tools to connect with the Ethereum ecosystem, forming a componentization aimed at the public chain ecosystem.
Additionally, public reports mention the promotion of on-chain real assets (RWA): multiple media outlets have cited sources stating that Ant Digital Technologies is connecting energy infrastructure and other assets to the chain for rights confirmation, financing, and trading; the relevant scale will be subject to official subsequent disclosures.
These developments parallel the exchange announcements on September 1-2: the continuous release of technology and tool chains (ZAN, DTVM, and their connection with the Ethereum ecosystem) and the simultaneous advancement of cooperation and asset allocation (strategic investment in Pharos, purchase of ETH, and accounting) provide conditions for subsequent scenario integration based on compliance frameworks.
II. A&T Capital: The Rise and Fall of Ant's Early Overseas Crypto Investment Window
A&T Capital was established in 2021, positioned as an early to growth-stage fund focused on crypto and blockchain; it completed the first phase of fundraising of $100 million in February 2022, identified by multiple media and databases as an important LP of Ant Group, with investment directions concentrated on overseas crypto projects. Its public cases include ConsenSys and Matrixport (with A&T elaborating on the investment logic in ConsenSys's financing round; Matrixport's unicorn round disclosed A&T's participation).
In March 2023, its founding partner left A&T due to an investigation related to "workplace behavior." Bloomberg reported that he had previously served as the investment head at Ant and assisted in establishing A&T to invest in overseas crypto projects; subsequently, multiple media outlets reported that A&T had initiated an independent investigation process. This incident became a watershed moment for the fund's subsequent rhythm changes. In September 2023, Bloomberg cited sources stating that Ant Group planned to withdraw its $100 million investment in A&T, which was reprinted by several mainstream financial media and regional outlets, generally interpreted as "retreating from crypto," leading to uncertainty about the fund's future. This trend coincided with the macro environment of sluggish fundraising in both secondary and primary crypto markets at the time.
From a data perspective, A&T's new investments significantly slowed down in 2024-2025: industry databases show no new investment records for 2025, with the latest publicly disclosed investments mostly remaining before mid-2023. Currently, the main line of "Jack Ma's system" has shifted from "overseas equity investment" to undertaking certain risks in "underlying infrastructure + business scenario implementation."
III. AntChain Launches Its Own L2: Jovay — Ethereum-based Layer Two for RWA, No Token Issuance, Compliant Path
On April 30, 2025, Ant Digital Technologies launched the Ethereum ecosystem layer two Jovay at the RWA REAL UP summit held in Dubai, officially positioning it as RWA infrastructure for institutional-level fund transactions and as a key component of the "dual chain one bridge" (AntChain asset chain + AntChain Bridge + L2), aiming to tokenize real assets under a compliant framework and form a verifiable on-chain flow.
Technical Features
The press release disclosed that Jovay focuses on "trusted execution + high throughput + low latency," claiming 100,000 TPS and approximately 100 milliseconds of on-chain response, emphasizing seamless integration with Layer 1 such as Ethereum to enhance settlement and scalability; these performance indicators are disclosed by the vendor and will need to be validated by subsequent public testing and third-party audits. Some industry reports further state that Jovay adopts a dual proof path of TEE+ZK and hierarchical confirmation to balance compliance verifiability and user experience (as reported by the media, still subject to official and audit results).
R&D and Open Source Stack
One week before the launch of Jovay (April 24), Ant Digital Technologies announced the open-source DTVM (DeTerministic Virtual Machine) technology stack: centered on deterministic execution, equipped with multi-language SDK and AI tools such as SmartCogent, the official statement claims it can achieve up to 30 times efficiency improvement in certain smart contract scenarios and is released under the Apache 2.0 open-source license, aiming for deeper compatibility with the Ethereum ecosystem and reducing institutional-level development and compliance audit costs. The launch event also listed DTVM alongside Jovay as part of the RWA infrastructure combination.
Progress Milestones
On July 15, the Jovay testnet was announced to be online, with the mainnet expected to launch in Q4, emphasizing its focus on "institutional-level use cases (including RWA)" and addressing the pain points of traditional L2 in performance, security, compliance, and scalability.
"No Token Issuance" Compliance Orientation
Ant has repeatedly emphasized in external communications that Jovay is a fully self-developed Ethereum-based L2 aimed at overseas markets, without issuing cryptocurrencies/native tokens; this statement was directly quoted by the South China Morning Post in an interview report on August 7, along with a timeline window for "real funds" to be operational in September.
Connection to the Main Line: A Key Component of the Closed Loop
Narratively, Jovay connects AntChain's "enterprise-level engineering capabilities (AntChain Station / industry applications) → Web3 componentization (ZAN, DTVM) → Ethereum-based settlement layer expansion (L2)" into an actionable path; its strategy of "no token issuance + targeting institutions + overseas markets" aligns with compliance frameworks in places like Hong Kong and Dubai. At the same time, Jovay is included in the official "dual chain one bridge" plan, directly linking the AntChain asset chain and cross-chain bridge, providing an end-to-end technical foundation for the issuance, registration, and clearing of RWA, converging with the role of Yunfeng Financial on the asset side in the main strategy of "RWA × Ethereum."
IV. Yunfeng Financial Actions: From Industry Collaboration to Treasury Entry
Yunfeng Financial is closely associated with "Jack Ma's system." Yunfeng Financial Group (HKEX: 00376) is a comprehensive financial technology group listed on the Hong Kong main board, covering brokerage, asset management, insurance, and fintech, headquartered in Hong Kong, and holding relevant financial regulatory licenses. Its predecessor was the Hong Kong brokerage Reorient Group. In 2015, the South China Morning Post disclosed that Jack Ma acquired a 56% stake in Reorient through the Yunfeng system; the same capital subsequently led the company to rename and expand its business (renamed "Yunfeng Financial Group" in 2016). From 2017 to 2018, Yunfeng Financial led the acquisition of MassMutual Asia and completed the transaction in November 2018, later renamed YF Life, establishing a foothold in the life insurance sector.
Two announcements from Yunfeng Group in September indicate that incorporating ETH into strategic reserves aims to provide key infrastructure support for its RWA tokenization activities, explore applicable models in the insurance business, and optimize asset structure while reducing reliance on traditional currencies.
In a voluntary announcement on July 14, Yunfeng clearly stated that it would strategically expand into Web3, RWA, digital currency, ESG net-zero assets, and AI, and mentioned increasing investments in digital currencies while exploring application scenarios combined with insurance business; the funding source is internal resources and will be prudently adjusted with business and market dynamics. The two September announcements can be seen as a clear implementation of this strategy and the asset side's undertaking. At the same time, the company emphasized the high volatility of crypto asset prices and the boundaries of information disclosure, warning that if subsequent purchases trigger the threshold of Chapter 14 of the Listing Rules, it will fulfill disclosure obligations in accordance with the law.
Yunfeng Financial's latest official announcement states that its wholly-owned subsidiary Yunfeng Securities Limited has officially received approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to upgrade its existing Type 1 (securities trading) regulated activity license to provide virtual asset trading services through a comprehensive account arrangement on the SFC-licensed platform.
V. Why Choose Ethereum (ETH) as the First Strategic Reserve?
On September 2, Yunfeng Financial disclosed that it had cumulatively purchased 10,000 ETH in the open market with its own funds, and recorded it as an "investment" in its financial statements; the company stated that it would adjust the reserve scale based on market and regulatory conditions. A previous announcement in September indicated that the inclusion of ETH aims to provide key infrastructure support for RWA tokenization activities and explore applicable models in the insurance business.
From the asset characteristics and public research, Fidelity's digital asset report positions Ethereum as a decentralized smart contract platform, emphasizing its auditability, usability, and reliability; the report also points out that the "merge" has led to a contraction in issuance, combined with the fee-burning mechanism of EIP-1559, causing ETH's "net cash flow" to return in the form of destruction, dynamically related to network demand. The report also listed the operation method and quantitative data of the destruction mechanism: approximately 4.6 million ETH have been destroyed cumulatively since its implementation in August 2021 (as of June 23, 2025).
Combining the aforementioned disclosures, Yunfeng Financial clarified the handling framework of "usage - funds - accounting representation - continuous disclosure" in its announcement: purchasing with internal funds, classifying it as an investment in the statements, and indicating that if it triggers the threshold of Chapter 14 of the Listing Rules, it will disclose in accordance with the law.
According to the company's statement, the proportion of future investments in digital assets will continue to increase; in addition to ETH, it plans to explore including mainstream digital assets such as BTC and SOL in its strategic reserve assets.
On September 17, Yunfeng Financial announced that its blockchain team successfully achieved the RWA tokenization of high-quality FOF shares held by its wholly-owned subsidiary, completing the company's first independently operated real-world asset tokenization project. This project follows the virtual asset regulatory framework of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and aims to address the pain points of cumbersome traditional fund share transfers and insufficient liquidity.
On September 19, according to the South China Morning Post, Yunfeng Financial Group, supported by Jack Ma, appointed former Ant Group senior executive Jiang Guofei as the chairman of the Web3 Development Committee. Jiang Guofei previously served as the president of Ant's Digital Technology Group, responsible for leading the blockchain projects of the fintech giant.
VI. Next Steps Speculation
From the disclosed information, the technical line (Ant Digital Technologies' Jovay L2, DTVM) and the asset line (Yunfeng Financial's inclusion of ETH, layout of Pharos) have established a basic framework of "road - bridge - vehicle." The most likely subsequent actions will focus on the following three directions:
(1) On-chain operation and compliance pilot with "real money." Jovay's testnet was launched on July 15, with the official statement indicating that the mainnet is expected to go live in Q4; at the same time, Ant clearly stated in an interview on August 7 that Jovay "does not issue tokens" and plans to have "real funds" operational by September (this is a planned window, still subject to final launch and audit). This means that observable signals in the near term will shift from "launch parameters" to "on-chain flow of the first batch of institutional funds" (such as RWA issuance, clearing and settlement, custody/audit linkage, etc.).
(2) RWA business advancement under the Hong Kong - Dubai dual hub. In Hong Kong, the SFC has released a roadmap for the virtual asset market and guidelines related to tokenization, providing regulatory tools for licensing, products, and risk control; in Dubai, VARA has established a dedicated regulatory system for virtual assets and opened services to overseas entities. Both locations are compliance-friendly hubs, and with Ant launching Jovay in Dubai and establishing a global headquarters in Hong Kong while continuing to promote the Web3 toolchain, there is a high probability of cross-border RWA pilot scenarios emerging (such as issuing and registering in one location while settling and circulating in another), with audits and compliance reports serving as acceptance criteria.
(3) The "rhythm and boundaries" of treasury management. Yunfeng Financial's exchange announcement on September 2 stated: it has cumulatively purchased 10,000 ETH in the open market (total cost of $44 million, including fees), funded by internal cash reserves, recorded as an "investment," and will "closely monitor the market and regulations and adjust the reserve scale as needed." This means that in the future, what is more worthy of attention than short-term price fluctuations is the subsequent secondary disclosures (increases/decreases in holdings, custody arrangements, accounting treatment standards, etc.); additionally, the announcement also highlighted the core risk points of volatility and regulatory uncertainty.
On top of these three clues, there are also two "extendable but falsifiable" observations: first, the exploration of on-chain applications in licensed scenarios such as insurance. The South China Morning Post cited the company's statement that ETH will be used to explore applicable models in insurance and other businesses; if established, the most likely entry point would be the on-chain confirmation of rights and clearing and settlement of policies/assets, with the rhythm depending on the maturity of regulatory and audit collaboration; second, collaboration on the public chain side. Yunfeng and Ant Digital Technologies have disclosed their strategic investment/collaboration on Pharos in the announcement on September 1, and if a Pharos × Jovay × AntChain combination scenario emerges later (such as cross-chain asset registration and settlement), it will need to be confirmed by formal announcements from the projects and partners.
"Jack Ma's trial in cryptocurrency" reduces compliance risks on the technical side with "no-token L2 + component toolchain," establishes verifiable support on the asset side with "listed company treasury accounting for ETH," and constrains behavioral boundaries on the governance side with "exchange announcements and audits." Based on the disclosed and executed situation, this trial can be viewed as a cautious, reversible asset allocation experiment, which, if subsequent progress is smooth, may become a replicable paradigm for traditional internet and licensed finance to enter crypto infrastructure.
However, on September 11, according to exclusive reports from Caixin, due to recent changes in policy direction, Chinese-funded banks and other institutions that had previously actively participated in applying for Hong Kong stablecoin licenses may adjust their strategies, and branches of internet giants and state-owned enterprises, as well as state-owned financial institutions, engaging in stablecoin and cryptocurrency businesses in Hong Kong may face restrictions; actions by internet platforms participating in investments in cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency exchanges abroad will also face limitations, requiring a focus on developing the real economy. Whether Jack Ma's recent proactive actions will change or cool down is worth following up on.
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