Ant International, a subsidiary of Alipay's parent company Ant Group, is preparing to apply for an official license to issue stablecoins in Hong Kong and Singapore. This is interpreted as a signal that the world's largest mobile payment platform company is fully entering the digital asset market.
According to Bloomberg on the 12th (local time), Ant International is also known to be preparing similar applications to authorities in Luxembourg. In particular, Hong Kong has been working on establishing a stablecoin regulatory framework since 2023, with related laws set to take effect from August 2025, and Ant's moves are expected to be fully launched in line with this schedule.
Stablecoins are virtual assets whose value is pegged to traditional assets such as legal tender or gold, with low price volatility, making them suitable for cross-border payments and remittances, which global fintech companies are paying attention to.
Ant Group operates Alipay, China's largest mobile payment service, and is a global platform company with over 1 billion users. There are assessments that if such a company enters the stablecoin market, it could have a significant impact on the existing global financial network.
Unlike central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) such as the digital yuan, stablecoins issued by private companies are being viewed as both a technological experiment and part of the competition for financial leadership, as they can expand global payment infrastructure under private sector leadership.
Ant's stablecoin initiative is drawing attention as an example of agile strategic changes by private companies amid the gradual improvement of digital financial regulations in Asia.
