According to a report by Bloomberg citing anonymous sources, Ant International plans to apply for a stablecoin issuance license in Singapore and Hong Kong, indicating that the fintech company’s interest in institutional-level cryptocurrency applications is growing.
Bloomberg quoted unnamed sources revealing that Ant International, a subsidiary of Ant Group supported by Jack Ma, is preparing to submit a license application after the stablecoin regulatory framework in Hong Kong comes into effect in August. The company is also expected to advance similar license application efforts in Singapore and Luxembourg.
Ant Group is an affiliate of China's Alibaba Group, owning and operating the world's largest digital payment platform, Alipay, which serves over 80 million merchants and 1.3 billion users globally.
This move highlights the increasing confidence of traditional fintech companies in the maturing global regulatory environment for stablecoins, which are being more widely used in payment and digital asset settlement fields.
The news follows the passage of Hong Kong's first fiat-backed stablecoin licensing system, the "Stablecoin Ordinance," on May 21, which will come into full effect on August 1.
Under the new system, stablecoin issuers must apply for a stablecoin issuance license from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). Non-compliance could result in fines of up to HKD 5 million (USD 640,000).
Ant International plans to adopt stablecoin technology in its financial operations, including cross-border payments and fund management services.
Sources indicated that one-third of the company's USD 1 trillion global transactions in 2024 will be processed through its blockchain-based Whale platform.
Ant International is also responsible for handling transaction operations for its e-commerce affiliate Alibaba.
Ant Group and its subsidiaries have previously shown a strong interest in blockchain and tokenization solutions. In December 2024, Ant Digital partnered with the Sui Layer 1 blockchain to jointly tokenize real assets related to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) fields.
Data from DefiLlama shows that just days before this news was released, the total market capitalization of stablecoins surpassed USD 25 billion for the first time on Sunday.
David Pakman, managing partner of crypto-native investment firm CoinFund, believes that the global supply of stablecoins could exceed USD 1 trillion by the end of 2025, which is expected to be the next significant catalyst driving growth in the cryptocurrency market.
"This is the core catalyst that has been missing for over a decade: the mass on-chain wealth of people, which will drive more participants into the ecosystem," Pakman said during a live broadcast of Cointelegraph's Chainreaction on the X platform on March 27.
Related: Alchemy Pay partners with Backed to expand access to tokenized ETFs and stocks
Original article: “Ant International, led by Jack Ma, targets stablecoin licenses in Singapore and Hong Kong”
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