Ant Group payment corporation with 1.6 billion Alipay users will integrate Circle stablecoin after complying with US regulations.
China's Ant Group is preparing to integrate Circle's USDC stablecoin into its blockchain platform, according to a report from Bloomberg. This move could bring an important turning point for stablecoin adoption on a global scale, especially since Ant Group owns Alipay with approximately 1.6 billion user accounts, making it the world's largest mobile payment platform.
Ant Group started as a spin-off from Alibaba and currently operates Alipay, the most popular mobile payment platform in mainland China and widely used in many neighboring Asian countries. According to sources, the timing of USDC integration is currently Unconfirmed, but is expected to occur only after USDC is fully compliant with US regulations, especially after the GENIUS Act was recently passed by Congress.
At the Reuters Next conference in Singapore, Kelvin Li, Platform Technology Director of Ant International, clarified the company's direction. Li emphasized that initially they will not focus on crypto asset transactions but on global payments. The company believes stablecoin is an important means to make global payments more efficient and provide superior customer experience.
Ant Group Expands Global Stablecoin Strategy
Reuters revealed that Ant Group is lobbying the Chinese government and seriously considering submitting license applications in multiple global jurisdictions to issue their own stablecoins. Additionally, the company plans to issue a stablecoin backed by Hong Kong dollars after the new legal framework in the special administrative region takes effect on August 1.
This information emerged as Circle reached a record valuation of $46 billion after the GENIUS Act was approved by the US Congress on June 17. If passed by the House of Representatives, the act will provide the first clear legal framework in the US for stablecoins like USDC, helping Circle become one of the most valuable crypto asset companies after its IPO last month.
Alexandr Kerya, Vice President of Product Management at CEX.IO, noted this could be a sign that Circle is pulling ahead of Tether in the stablecoin race. He pointed out that Circle has surpassed Tether in regulatory approval, becoming the first stablecoin issuer to receive a license under the new EU regulations and holding the most Money Transfer Licenses in the US among stablecoin issuers.
USDC's growth momentum is also outperforming its competitor, with USDC supply increasing by 88% in the past 12 months, while Tether only achieved 40% growth. As of the time of reporting, both Circle and Ant Group have not officially confirmed these reports.
