- Ant Group partners with Circle to bring USDC to its global blockchain platform.
- Circle’s shares jumped 3.8% after announcing the USDC integration with Ant Group.
- Ant International is applying for stablecoin licenses in Singapore, Hong Kong, & Luxembourg.
Ant International, the global arm of China’s Ant Group, is collaborating with Circle Financial to bring the USDC stablecoin onto its blockchain platform. The collaboration, reported by Bloomberg on Thursday, remains contingent upon Circle’s stablecoin receiving formal approval under U.S. compliance regulations. No specific timeline for implementation has been announced at this stage.
The collaboration arrives as stablecoins gain broader traction within institutional finance. Circle’s shares rose 3.8% in pre-market trading following the announcement. As one of the few publicly traded companies issuing a regulated stablecoin, Circle has positioned itself as a leader in digital financial infrastructure. In April, the company announced a payment network designed to assist financial institutions in settling international transactions with USDC.
Ant Integrates USDC for Global Expansion
The collaboration will be a major milestone in integrating regulated digital tokens into the blockchain services of Ant Group. The firm has now prioritized the development of compliant and scalable financial systems outside mainland China.
Particularly in regions with well-defined regulatory frameworks. It is believed that the inclusion of USDC can boost the efficiency and regulatory transparency of the international payment services offered by Ant.
Ant is also taking into consideration other digital tools, such as central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and tokenized bank deposits. Such new financial technologies are already starting to assist the global treasury of Ant. It is also increasingly using them in its cross-border transactions.
In 2024, the company settled over one trillion dollars of international payments. These trading activities were facilitated by its own blockchain infrastructure about one-third of the way.
Ant Eyes Licenses Abroad Amid Stablecoin Shift
As part of its global expansion strategy, Ant International is actively seeking digital asset licenses in several key financial hubs. The firm is seeking stablecoin licenses in Singapore and Hong Kong, along with a digital asset approval in Luxembourg.
USDC and similar stablecoins are intended to hold a consistent value, usually linked to a fiat currency like the U.S. dollar. As of June 2025, more than $250 billion worth of stablecoins were in circulation globally.
Related: Stablecoin Giants Rival Nations in Gold and Treasury Power
As stablecoins like USDC become more integral to the digital economy, regulators have raised concerns about their potential misuse and financial stability risks. In June, the U.S. Senate passed the GENIUS Act, the first significant legislation aimed at regulating dollar-backed stablecoins.
Ant Rebuilds Global Strategy After IPO Setback
The renewed interest of Ant Group in global digital finances can be explained by a wave of regulatory setbacks in the domestic market. In 2020, Chinese regulators abruptly halted Ant Group’s record-setting $35 billion IPO, triggering a major corporate restructuring. Ant has since tried to recover its strategy by focusing on global expansion and conforming its services to foreign standards of regulation.
Ant International, which is now the focus of the transformation, has just set up a separate board as it readied itself in case it spins off and gets listed. The report indicates that the unit produced almost 3 billion dollars of revenue in 2024 and recorded two consecutive years of adjusted profits. Bloomberg Intelligence estimated that an IPO would give the business a value of $8 billion to $24 billion in Hong Kong.
With the potential incorporation of USDC and its licensing programs, Ant Group is strengthening its dedication toward digital finance. The cooperation with Circle opens the way to the development of both businesses in strategically significant markets. It also focuses on the increasing need in secure and compliant blockchain-based financial services.
