Ant International enters the game, has the "stablecoin giant competition" begun?

Author: Fairy, ChainCatcher

Editor: TB, ChainCatcher

Stablecoins, the new battleground for global payments, are something that tech giants do not want to miss.

As Hong Kong's new stablecoin regulatory policy is about to be implemented, Ant Group has taken action. Its international business entity, Ant International, plans to apply for a stablecoin issuer license as soon as the policy takes effect, while simultaneously advancing compliance layouts in markets such as Singapore and Luxembourg.

JD.com, Ant Group, Standard Chartered Bank… a "battle for stablecoins" among giants is unfolding.

Will Ant's Stablecoin Layout Open Up a New Space of $150 Billion?

The news began on June 10, when Deutsche Bank announced a partnership with Ant International to explore cutting-edge areas such as tokenized deposits and stablecoin solutions. This multinational fintech collaboration became a prelude to Ant International's stablecoin layout.

Two days later, Ant International announced its intention to apply for a stablecoin issuer license in Hong Kong. It stated that it is accelerating investments and expanding partnerships in global treasury management, aiming to apply AI, blockchain, and stablecoin innovations in real and reliable large-scale applications.

This move may indicate that Ant Group has incorporated stablecoins into its core global fintech strategy, intending to build a "stable anchor" covering cross-border capital flows. The news triggered a strong market reaction, with Hong Kong stocks related to "Ant Financial" collectively rising, Yunfeng Financial soaring by as much as 98% during trading, and Lion Rock Holdings increasing by nearly 15%.

Notably, according to Bloomberg, Ant International is expected to handle over $1 trillion in global funds in 2024, with more than one-third processed through its blockchain platform Whale, roughly estimating over $300 billion of funds circulating on-chain. If half of this can extend to stablecoin scenarios, then within Ant's existing business system, the theoretical space for stablecoin trading volume has already reached the level of $150 billion.

Ant's Decade-Long Journey

In fact, Ant Group's exploration of Web3 has quietly begun and has been continuously advanced over the past decade.

As early as 2015, Ant Financial established a blockchain team to initiate systematic research on this cutting-edge technology. The following year, its first blockchain public welfare application, "Hearing Impaired Children's New Voice," successfully went live, achieving full-chain tracking of donation flows and becoming an early representative case of blockchain technology implementation in China.

Entering 2018, Ant Blockchain completed its transformation from a "technology project" to a "platform ecosystem," officially launching a partner program and opening its BaaS blockchain platform to the outside world. This strategic shift laid the foundation for subsequent product explosions.

In 2019, Ant Blockchain products began to accelerate their implementation: launching "Dual Chain Link" in the supply chain finance sector to serve the financing needs of small and medium-sized enterprises; achieving origin traceability for 400 million cross-border e-commerce products during Tmall's Double 11; launching the original image copyright protection platform "Quezao"; and even establishing a blockchain cross-border remittance network from Malaysia to Pakistan, demonstrating strong global ambitions.

In 2020, Ant officially upgraded Ant Blockchain to "Ant Chain" and announced that its daily on-chain transactions had exceeded 100 million.

In 2021, Ant Chain entered the NFT field, launching payment code skin NFTs.

In 2023, Ant launched a Web3-focused sub-brand ZAN in Hong Kong, providing compliant technical solutions for overseas markets. In the same year, Ant Group partnered with HSBC to complete internal payment transaction tests based on tokenized deposits, marking the first integration of traditional finance and on-chain technology in real scenarios.

In 2024, Ant Group completed its restructuring, with Ant International, OceanBase, and Ant Digital Technology operating independently, each establishing its own board of directors and CEO structure. Subsequently, Ant International and Ant Digital Technology continued to layout in the Web3 field, especially in the RWA sector.

• In December 2024, Sui partnered with Ant Digital Technology to promote RWA in the new energy industry.
• In April 2025, Ant Digital Technology announced the launch of Layer2 blockchain Jovay for overseas markets.
• In May 2025, Ant International became the first corporate client in Hong Kong to use HSBC's tokenized deposit service.
• ……

From underlying chains to compliant overseas expansion, from public welfare scenarios to global payments, Ant is continuously building its Web3 landscape through a quiet yet strategically deep path.

Battle for Licenses

As Hong Kong initiates stablecoin sandbox testing and clarifies the upcoming licensing system, a "race for licenses" among giants is quietly unfolding. Ant is the representative that acted first, but this game is already crowded with prepared players.

As early as last July, five giants had become participants in the stablecoin issuer "sandbox": JD Coin Chain Technology, Yuan Coin Technology, Standard Chartered Bank, Animoca Brands, and Hong Kong Telecom.

In addition, the following companies have expressed interest in participating in Hong Kong's stablecoin issuance:

• In November 2023, Dr. Xiao Feng, founder of Hashkey Group, stated in a speech that Hashkey Group would jointly issue stablecoins in Hong Kong with Yuan Coin Technology and Zhong An Bank.
• In May 2024, the Hong Kong-listed company Yucheng Technology reached a partnership with Chainlink to explore stablecoin issuance in Hong Kong.

From the current composition of players emerging, the Hong Kong stablecoin track is gathering three types of forces: traditional financial institutions like Standard Chartered Bank and Zhong An Bank, viewing stablecoins as a testing ground for tokenized deposits and on-chain accounts; tech and e-commerce giants like Ant Group and JD.com, focusing more on integrating stablecoins into their ecosystems to promote the application of cross-border payments and digital consumption scenarios; and Web3-native forces represented by Animoca Brands and Hashkey Group, attempting to leverage Hong Kong's policy window to create competitive on-chain stable assets.

Ant Group's strategic layout not only demonstrates its keen insight into global market dynamics but also signals a new direction for payments and capital flows. As more giants enter the fray, the maturity and innovation of the stablecoin ecosystem will propel the global payment system into a new era.