Ant International reportedly plans to apply for stablecoin issuer licenses in Singapore and Hong Kong, signaling growing institutional cryptocurrency adoption among fintech firms.
Ant International, a Singapore-based unit of the Jack Ma-backed Ant Group, is preparing to submit a license application in Hong Kong after the city’s stablecoin regulatory framework takes effect in August, according to a Bloomberg report citing unidentified sources. The company is expected to pursue similar licensing efforts in Singapore and Luxembourg.
Ant Group is an affiliate of the Chinese conglomerate Alibaba Group, which owns and operates the world’s largest digital payment platform, Alipay, serving over 80 million merchants and 1.3 billion users worldwide.
The move underscores rising confidence among traditional fintech players in the maturing global regulatory landscape for stablecoins, which are increasingly used for payments and digital asset settlement.
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The news follows the passage of the Stablecoin Ordinance bill, Hong Kong’s first licensing regime for fiat-based stablecoins, on May 21, which is set to go into full effect on Aug. 1.
Under the new regime, stablecoin issuers must obtain a license from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) for stablecoin issuance. Noncompliance will be punishable with fines of up to 5 million Hong Kong dollars ($640,000).
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Ant International to leverage stablecoins for cross-border payments, treasury management
Ant International seeks to adopt stablecoins for its financial operations, including cross-border payments and treasury management services.
During 2024, a third of the firm’s $1 trillion worth of global transactions were processed through its blockchain-based Whale platform, the sources stated.
Ant International also handles the transactions of its e-commerce affiliate, Alibaba.
Ant Group and its affiliates have previously shown interest in blockchain and tokenization solutions. In December 2024, Ant Digital partnered with Sui layer-1 blockchain to tokenize real-world assets related to the environmental, social and governance space.
$1 trillion stablecoin supply next big crypto market catalyst for 2025?
The news comes days after the total stablecoin market capitalization surpassed the $250 million all-time high for the first time on Sunday, DefiLlama data shows.
The global stablecoin supply may surpass $1 trillion before the end of 2025, potentially becoming the next significant catalyst for the growth of the cryptocurrency market, according to David Pakman, managing partner at crypto-native investment firm CoinFund.
“This is the major catalyst that’s been missing for over a decade: a major movement of people’s wealth onchain that brings everyone else on,” Pakman said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction live show on X on March 27.
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