China’s Payment Giant Ant Group Files Crypto Trademarks in Hong Kong

Ant Group, the fintech powerhouse behind Alipay, has filed trademarks in Hong Kong this year for virtual assets, stablecoins, and blockchain, including “ ANTCOIN .” This, as many have speculated, is a signal to potential expansion into Web3 despite Beijing’s recent regulatory warnings that forced the company to pause its stablecoin issuance ￰2￱ trademark applications come as Chinese technology firms race to secure intellectual property in the digital asset space, even with tightening regulatory ￰3￱ Kong Stablecoin Ambitions in Limbo Ant Group’s trademark moves follow a dramatic reversal in its stablecoin strategy earlier this ￰4￱ June, the company announced plans to apply for stablecoin licenses in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Luxembourg once Hong Kong’s new regulatory framework took effect in ￰5￱ similarly pursued offshore yuan-oriented stablecoins through Hong Kong’s pilot program for fiat-backed tokens.

However, officials at the People’s Bank of China and the Cyberspace Administration of China instructed both firms to pause or abandon their stablecoin initiatives by mid-October. China's Ant Group and ￰0￱ have paused their Hong Kong stablecoin plans after Beijing signalled that private firms should not issue currency-like tokens. #AntGroup #JD. com #Stablecoins ￰1￱ — ￰6￱ (@cryptonews) October 20, 2025 Regulators expressed concern that large tech firms issuing currency-like tokens could undermine the central bank’s monetary authority , insisting that the right to issue money must remain exclusively with the state, not private ￰7￱ PBoC governor Zhou Xiaochuan reinforced the cautious stance at a closed-door forum in late August, warning that “ stablecoins could easily become vehicles for speculation or fraud ,” while questioning their value for everyday retail ￰8￱ Becomes Cornerstone of International Strategy Despite regulatory setbacks at home, Ant has aggressively expanded its blockchain infrastructure ￰9￱ company’s Whale blockchain processed roughly one-third of the over $1 trillion in transactions handled by its global payments platform last ￰10￱ July, Ant partnered with Circle Financial to integrate USDC onto its blockchain platform, aiming to enhance cross-border payment efficiency for its merchant ￰11￱ Digital, the company’s blockchain arm, has pioneered the tokenization of real-world assets in China’s renewable energy ￰12￱ unit has connected over 60 billion yuan worth of energy-related assets to AntChain, helping companies like Longshine Technology Group and GCL Energy Technology raise hundreds of millions of yuan by offering digital tokens representing fractional ownership in charging stations and solar ￰13￱ are now considering extending this approach to offshore exchanges to create liquidity for the tokens, pending regulatory ￰14￱ company’s overseas arm reported close to $3 billion in revenue in 2024, posting profits for two consecutive years and establishing an independent board to prepare for a potential spin-off and ￰15￱ Innovation and Regulatory Reality Ant’s trademark filings suggest the company is hedging its bets, playing within the rules and outside ￰16￱ company has also launched consumer-facing blockchain ￰17￱ of them is Topnod, a digital art platform where 4,088 blockchain-verified artworks priced between 8 and 28 yuan were sold within three hours of launch in ￰18￱ concerns remain a critical challenge for stablecoin adoption at scale. “ Unless we bring hack rates below 1%, stablecoins will remain unbankable, and we’ll be subsidizing cybercrime for decades, ” says Mitchell Amador, CEO of blockchain security provider Immunefi, noting that losses currently account for 3.6–4% of total value locked in onchain ￰19￱ reports $40 billion in stablecoin-related illicit activity since 2022, showing infrastructure vulnerabilities even as legislative frameworks like the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts provide regulatory pathways.