Seeing that Ant Group is looking to obtain stablecoin licenses in Hong Kong and Singapore, I find this quite interesting. The international department of Ant is preparing to apply for the legal qualifications to issue stablecoins in these two locations, and Hong Kong is set to move forward as soon as the new regulations take effect in August. Singapore and Luxembourg are also on the agenda.
At its core, this is still about its massive cross-border payment business. Last year, Ant facilitated over $1 trillion in global transactions, a third of which was completed using its own blockchain platform "Whale." Applying for a license is akin to obtaining an officially recognized "business license," which will make its cross-border payment and fund management services more stable and compliant. This move is quite pragmatic, leveraging blockchain technology to enhance efficiency while keeping pace with regulatory developments, establishing a compliant bridge in the rapidly changing digital financial sector. Ant aims to play its cross-border business more significantly and smoothly on the increasingly important "digital bridge" of stablecoins.