Ant International, the overseas arm of Jack Ma-backed Ant Group, is preparing to roll out stablecoin services across major Asian financial hubs, according to a Bloomberg report.
The move represents a significant shift for one of the world’s largest payment processors, which handled over $1 trillion in global transactions in the past year.
According to sources cited in the report, the Singapore-based unit plans to apply for a stablecoin issuer license in Hong Kong as soon as the city’s new Stablecoins Ordinance takes effect in August. Simultaneously, Ant is also pursuing licenses in Singapore and Luxembourg, underscoring its ambition to deepen its footprint in the blockchain space.
This stablecoin initiative builds on Ant’s existing digital asset infrastructure, particularly its Whale platform, which already processes roughly $333 billion, or one-third of the company’s annual transaction volume. The platform is equipped to support tokenized assets from banks and financial institutions worldwide and utilizes advanced privacy-preserving technologies such as homomorphic encryption and multiparty verification.
Through this expansion, Ant International aims to enhance its cross-border payments and treasury services by increasing efficiency and transparency in fund flows. The timing is strategic, as institutional interest in stablecoins continues to rise, with an asset class now exceeding $240 billion in market value.
To further strengthen its ecosystem, Ant has formed partnerships with more than 10 major global banks, including HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, BNP Paribas, and Standard Chartered. Additionally, the company announced a new collaboration with Deutsche Bank this week to scale its payment and treasury solutions.
With a newly established independent board structure, Ant International is reportedly positioning itself for a future spinoff and IPO, with valuations projected between $8 billion and $24 billion in a potential Hong Kong listing.
Meanwhile, broader corporate interest in stablecoins is accelerating. According to Coinbase’s latest State of Crypto report, nearly 29% of executives from Fortune 500 companies said their firms are either planning to adopt or exploring the use of stablecoins, up sharply from just 8% the year before.
If you want to read more news articles like this, visit DeFi Planet and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and CoinMarketCap Community.
“Take control of your crypto portfolio with MARKETS PRO, DeFi Planet’s suite of analytics tools.”
