Jack Ma's $1 Trillion Blockchain Bet: Circle's USDC Could Be the Key

Ant Group may be gearing up for a major move into regulated cryptoand it's picking a hot partner to get there. People familiar say Jack Ma-backed Ant is working with Circle to bring its USDC stablecoin onto Ant's blockchain platform, pending U.S. compliance. The integration would mark a meaningful step for Circle CRCL, which just went public in June and is already up over 500%. With regulators beginning to draw clearer lines around stablecoins, this tie-up could be an early signal of how traditional fintech giants are planning to plug into tokenized paymentscautiously, but decisively.

Circle's USDC could serve as a bridge for Ant's cross-border ambitions. Ant International processed over $1 trillion in global transactions last year, and a third of that flowed through its blockchain. The company is reportedly pursuing stablecoin licenses in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Luxembourgadding a layer of credibility and compliance to its crypto push. Behind the scenes, Ant has already signed deals with major players like JPMorgan, HSBC, and BNP Paribas to support tokenized assets on its network. Its growing treasury business, especially through Alibaba's BABA e-commerce ecosystem, is quietly becoming a high-value anchor in this evolution.

There's also an IPO narrative developing. Ant International, which generated close to $3 billion in revenue in 2024 and has now logged two straight years of adjusted profit, could be lining up for a Hong Kong listing. Estimates suggest a potential valuation between $8 billion and $24 billion. If Circle's integration goes live and Ant wins the licenses it's chasing, that could reshape how investors view both the company's blockchain monetization strategy and the broader adoption arc for regulated crypto assets.