Jack Ma-backed Ant to add Circle’s stablecoin to global net: sources

[HONG KONG] Jack Ma-backed Ant Group is working with Circle Internet Group to adopt its stablecoin on the Chinese fintech company’s blockchain platform, according to people familiar with the matter.

Ant International, the company’s global unit, is planning to incorporate Circle’s USDC coin on its blockchain platform after the asset becomes compliant in the US, the people said, requesting not to be named because the matter is private. The exact timeline has yet to be determined, the people added.

Stablecoins are gaining more acceptance after the US Senate passed legislation in June setting up rules for cryptocurrencies pegged to the US dollar. Circle, which listed its shares in June, has been a main beneficiary of that optimism, being one of the few publicly traded companies that’s issued its own stablecoin. The company said in April that it would launch a payments network to help financial institutions settle cross-border transactions using the tokens.

Circle’s shares rose as much as 5.4 per cent in premarket trading on Thursday.

The collaboration is also part of Ant International’s ambitions to introduce more regulated cryptocurrencies like those issued by central banks and tokenized deposits onto its blockchain – a technology that now underpins its treasury management and cross-border payment services.

Circle and Ant declined to comment.

Ant processed more than US$1 trillion of global transactions last year, a third of which were handled by its blockchain, people familiar have said. Ant International itself is seeking to apply for stablecoin licences in Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as a related permit in Luxembourg, people said in June.

Stablecoins are digital assets designed to hold a steady value, usually pegged to another currency. They are crucial to the functioning of crypto markets, with about US$250 billion of them in circulation in June. Regulators around the world are trying to put rules on the sector, fearing the risk of stablecoin crashes and money laundering.

Ant growth

Since its record initial public offering was halted in 2020, Ant has been developing new initiatives to drive growth after its lucrative online lending business got handicapped by regulators in China.

Following that, Ant International established an independent board, setting the stage for a spinoff and potential IPO. The unit generated nearly US$3 billion in revenue for 2024 and has produced two consecutive years of adjusted profit, people familiar said in May.

Ant International could fetch an IPO valuation ranging from US$8 billion to US$24 billion if it were to list in Hong Kong, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

Increasingly, the unit’s treasury business has shown growth potential due to the sheer amount of transactions it handles for the e-commerce platforms of its affiliate Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., as well as external clients.

Ant’s blockchain platform currently supports multiple tokenized assets from banks and institutions around the world. It has signed agreements to collaborate with more than 10 banks globally including HSBC Holdings, BNP Paribas SA, JPMorgan Chase . and Standard Chartered.

As crypto adoption has grown, many companies have slowly made their way into the space, including financial and technology heavyweights. A high-profile attempt by Facebook and Instagram owner Meta Platforms to launch a stablecoin in 2019 later unravelled after a backlash. The rollout in 2023 of a stablecoin from PayPal Holdings marked the first effort from a big financial company.

Walmart and Amazon.com are among companies discussing issuing their own stablecoins.

There are also tokens that can act like stablecoins for use as collateral during trading, like tokenized money market funds. Asset managers including BlackRock and Franklin Templeton have created these kinds of products in recent years. BLOOMBERG