Ant Group, one of China’s largest digital financial firms, is planning to deepen its foray into the crypto and blockchain ecosystems. In the coming days, Ant Group’s blockchain-friendly unit called Ant International could finalise a partnership with Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin.
The fintech firm, backed by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, aims to enhance its dollar-to-token settlement services for merchants and banks. USDC is set to be integrated into Ant International’s proprietary AntChain blockchain if the deal is finalized, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, July 10.
For now, the Ant Group is reportedly waiting for Circle to align its operations with US’ stablecoin-related mandates before going forward with the discussions.
As of now, neither the Ant Group nor Circle have commented on Bloomberg’s report that cites anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
Meanwhile, it is notable that in recent weeks, Ant Group’s interest in stablecoins has seemingly risen despite China’s strict anti-crypto stance. Its Singapore-based Ant International unit has been making it to the headlines for venturing into stablecoin exploration for a while now.
Last month, for instance, reports of Ant International looking to apply for stablecoin issuer licences in Singapore as well as Hong Kong had also emerged.
In 2024, Ant International reportedly processed over $333 billion worth of global transactions via Ant Whale – which is a blockchain-backed platform used specifically by Ant International’s treasury to process international money movement and treasury management services. Ant Whale is also built on the AntChain.
As far as Circle is concerned, its USDC stablecoin is presently the second largest stablecoin in existence, closely following Tether (USDT). The stablecoin issuer has actively been taking steps to establish a strong foothold in the global crypto ecosystem via new features and partnerships.
This week, for instance, Circle entered into a partnership with the OKX crypto exchange to improve the liquidity quotient for USDC tokens. Last week, it launched a cross-chain gateway to process USDC transfers.