In the wave of digital finance, Ant Group has once again dropped a bombshell. On October 14, 2025, this Chinese fintech giant, which controls the payment network of 1.4 billion Alipay users, officially launched Jovay—a new type of Layer 2 (L2) blockchain built on Ethereum. Jovay aims to achieve 100,000 transactions per second and is designed to transfer real-world assets (RWA) onto the blockchain at an institutional scale. This move not only marks Ant Group's deep bet on the Ethereum ecosystem but also signals a potential disruptive change in global financial infrastructure. How will the intersection of 1.4 billion Alipay users and Ethereum's DeFi ecosystem reshape the global financial landscape?
- The Arrival of Jovay: Ant Group's "Compliance-First, AI-Assisted" L2 Network
Ant Group's blockchain division, Ant Digital, describes Jovay as a "compliance-first, AI-assisted expansion network," aimed at integrating real-world data and value flows into decentralized finance.
Technological Innovation: Jovay employs a dual proof system (a hybrid of zero-knowledge proofs and optimistic proofs) to ensure scalability and verifiability. During the testing phase, the network achieved 15,700 to 22,000 transactions per second (TPS) and aims for 100,000 TPS through node clustering and horizontal scaling. This will significantly exceed the throughput currently available in the Ethereum Layer-2 ecosystem, such as the processing speed of around 93 TPS for Base, supported by Coinbase.
Core RWA Focus: The core goal of Jovay is to transfer real-world assets (RWA) onto the blockchain. Its model introduces a five-stage process: asset registration, construction, tokenization, issuance, and trading. Each step embeds verification checkpoints and off-chain data proofs, effectively providing regulators with the same oversight perspective as in traditional finance.
Enterprise-Level Applications: The platform intentionally launched without issuing a native token, indicating its focus on enterprise and institutional adoption rather than retail speculation. By integrating AntChain's enterprise registry with Ethereum, Jovay enables bilateral settlements between licensed institutions and on-chain liquidity providers. For example, banks issuing digital bonds on Jovay can settle immediately with DeFi counterparties without leaking internal data or violating judicial controls.
- Ant Group's Macro Bet: Ethereum's "Quiet Victory"
Ant Group's entry into Ethereum marks a structural shift in how global fintech views blockchain risks.
Validating Public Infrastructure: For years, major companies favored permissioned ledgers like Hyperledger to avoid volatility and public chain risks. However, as governments and other major financial institutions increasingly experiment with public chains like Ethereum for their own interests, this consideration is changing. By building Jovay on Ethereum rather than a proprietary network, Ant effectively validates public infrastructure as a foundation for institutional financing.
Hedging Technological Isolation and Interoperability: This move is aimed at hedging technological isolation and achieving interoperability, as any asset minted on Jovay can, in principle, access Ethereum's $100 billion DeFi ecosystem.
Cost-Effectiveness: Reports indicate that since its launch in 2023, the Base network supported by Coinbase has contributed less than $5 million in blob and settlement fees to Ethereum Layer 1 validators. Compared to the fees faced by independent chains in validator costs, this represents a 98% profit margin. For Ant Group, this efficiency means providing cheaper settlement options for its billion-scale user base.
Institutional Trust: Jovay's debut also reflects the slow process of Ethereum gaining institutional trust. What once seemed like an unstable experiment has now become a neutral settlement layer that banks and fintech giants can rely on without relinquishing control.
- The Intersection of 1.4 Billion Alipay Users and Web3: Next-Generation Financial Infrastructure
Alipay has 1.4 billion active users monthly, processing trillions in payments annually. Even if a small portion of this activity can migrate to Ethereum via Jovay, the network could become one of the most important infrastructure bridges in the global financial sector.
Next Phase of Financial Construction: Abbas Khan, a successful manager and founder of the Ethereum Foundation, stated, "This is not just another startup experiment. It is a signal that the next phase of global finance is being built on the Ethereum track." He pointed out that in China, Alipay is not just an app; it is an infrastructure layer serving daily life, payments, loans, insurance, identity verification, mobile travel, and more. Now, Ant Group is migrating this infrastructure onto the blockchain.
The Huge Potential of RWA: If Jovay gains momentum, Ethereum's share of tokenized finance could surpass today's RWA niche market. This means that every new asset class introduced on-chain, including energy credits and municipal bonds, will create new demand for ETH block space and liquidity routing.
The Arrival of the Next Batch of Users: Khan believes that Ant Group's actions indicate that the next billion users will not come through memecoins or yield farming. Instead, they will emerge as their assets, savings, and credit tools quietly migrate to Ethereum-compatible tracks.
- The Synergy of Jack Ma's Web3 Layout
Jack Ma was the actual controller of Ant Group, but since the end of 2023, Ant Group has changed to having no actual controller, meaning Jack Ma is no longer its legal controller. However, Ant Group's launch of Jovay creates a synergy with other Web3 layouts associated with Jack Ma.
Yunfeng Financial's ETH Reserves: In September, Yunfeng Financial, in which Jack Ma holds indirect shares, announced that its board of directors had approved the purchase of ETH as a reserve asset in the open market. As of the announcement date, the group had cumulatively purchased 10,000 ETH in the open market, with a total investment cost (including fees and expenses) of $44 million. Additionally, the group's use of ETH as a reserve asset aligns with its layout in cutting-edge fields like Web3 and can optimize its asset structure, reducing reliance on traditional currencies.
Conclusion:
The launch of Ant Group's L2 "Jovay" is a significant milestone for the Ethereum ecosystem and the global digital finance sector. It not only combines Ant Group's vast user base and financial service capabilities with Ethereum's decentralized characteristics but also provides a new solution for RWA tokenization and institutional-level on-chain finance with a "compliance-first, AI-assisted" model. The success of Jovay is expected to accelerate the reshaping of global financial infrastructure, pushing Web3 technology from the virtual world into the real economy, ultimately bringing 1.4 billion Alipay users into a more efficient, transparent, and inclusive digital financial new era.
Related Reading: Jack Ma Enters the New Field of Cryptocurrency Insurance, What Key Signals Are Being Sent?
Original Article: “Ant Group Launches L2 Blockchain, Will 1.4 Billion Alipay Users Flood into Ethereum?”
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