Ant International plans to apply for a new stablecoin license in Hong Kong to strengthen cross-border blockchain payment capabilities

According to people familiar with the matter, Ant International, the international business unit of Ant Group, plans to apply for stablecoin-related licenses in Hong Kong and Singapore to strengthen the role of its blockchain infrastructure in the global payment network.

It is reported that Ant International will submit an application for a stablecoin issuer license as soon as the Hong Kong Stablecoins Ordinance officially takes effect in August this year. Outside Asia, the company also plans to seek relevant licenses in Luxembourg to expand its compliance layout in the European Union.

The move is seen as part of Ant Group's continued promotion of the integration of blockchain and cross-border payments. According to people familiar with the matter, Ant Financial processed more than $1 trillion in global transactions in 2023, of which about one-third was completed by its blockchain-based Whale platform. The platform supports multi-currency settlement, compliance audits and fund flow tracking, and its service scope covers e-commerce, financial institutions and small and medium-sized cross-border merchants.

In recent years, Hong Kong and Singapore have successively introduced stablecoin regulatory frameworks, striving to attract international financial technology companies to land on the premise of ensuring market security. Ant Group's layout also shows its continued investment in Web3 and digital currency compliance, especially in seeking regulatory coordination and technical adaptation space between Asian financial hubs.

At present, Ant has not yet made a public response to the relevant news. Market observers pointed out that if Ant successfully obtains relevant licenses, it may introduce more on-chain assets and clearing mechanisms to its payment ecosystem, which will help further enhance its technical and compliance competitiveness in the global digital payment market.