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Ant Group (the $200B Alibaba fintech giant behind Alipay’s 1.4 billion users and $21.3 trillion in annual transactions) launched Jovay Network, a high-performance Ethereum Layer 2 solution. [NEWS]

The goal? to reposition the company as a global, regulation-aligned fintech and blockchain infrastructure provider.

Backdrop: Ant’s IPO was derailed by China’s crackdown on fintech risk and Jack Ma’s criticism of regulators. It was forced to restructure into a financial holding company from a high-margin consumer lending model.

Let’s unpack.

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What Happened

Jovay emerges as a pivotal infrastructure connecting regulated, high-volume Web2 finance to Ethereum’s secure, liquid public ecosystem. By adopting Ethereum over its proprietary AntChain, Ant Group signals that L2 scaling is now the enterprise-grade foundation for international finance.

Technological edge: Hybrid ZK + TEE architecture ensures cryptographic verifiability and compliance-grade data privacy
Massive scale: Designed for 100,000 TPS, Jovay can handle Alipay’s 1.4B users
Geopolitical alignment: Serves as a compliant offshore gateway, leveraging jurisdictions like Hong Kong
Functional innovation: Intelligent Agent Contracts (IACs) combine AI and blockchain to create autonomous, dynamic financial instruments

By the data: The network currently hosts $49.9M AUM and has processed 16.8K transactions. Alipay claims 1.4B monthly active users (MAU), while it recorded $21.3T transaction volume in 2025. It is just a start.

The goal is to deliver financial services at a global scale; the blockchain must perform well beyond today’s public crypto networks.

Stepping back: A month back, Ant Digital announced its plans of $8B renewable energy tokenisation, targeting DeFi liquidity with Hong Kong compliance.

Zooming in: Ant Group is positioning Jovay as the base layer for autonomous finance through Intelligent Agent Contracts (IACs), AI-driven smart contracts that sense, decide, and act in real time. Unlike static code, IACs adapt to market, supply chain, or geopolitical shifts, adjusting financial terms autonomously. Powered by Jovay’s secure TEE/ZK stack, they enable compliant, high-speed execution for complex transactions.

Zooming out: Jovay’s 100,000 TPS target sets a new benchmark for institutional-grade Layer 2s, addressing the speed and confidentiality gaps that limit current rollups like Arbitrum and Optimism.

Why It Matters

Ant Digital is moving $8.4B worth of energy assets onto its proprietary AntChain (private blockchain). This includes 15B power devices such as wind turbines and solar panels. To put this into perspective, Ant Group’s annual transaction volume already exceeds 1.5x the global transaction volume of Visa and 15x that of PayPal.
Jovay combines Zero-Knowledge proofs with Trusted Execution Environments to balance transparency with confidentiality, essential for regulated finance. ZK ensures verifiability and scalability, while TEE protects sensitive data like KYC and risk models. By launching without a token, Ant Group positions Jovay as pure infrastructure, avoiding regulatory friction.
Tokenised Real-World Assets (RWAs) now total $33.91B, driven by institutional products like Treasuries, funds, and private credit. Ethereum dominates, holding ~84% share of the RWA market capitalisation by chain, making it the natural base for Ant Group’s Jovay.

Our Take

Ant Group’s real impact won’t come from retail users in China but from its vast global network of financial partners. By channelling cross-border payments, supply chain finance, and treasury operations through Jovay, even a small share of its transaction flow could make the platform a major bridge in global finance.

The key takeaway is Ethereum’s central role. While institutions increasingly explore purpose-built chains, Jovay demonstrates that real value will be anchored on Ethereum, with other chains operating as complementary layers atop this foundational base.

Today’s Market Signals

Sony has filed for a crypto banking charter to issue stablecoins and custody services. Link
US lawmaker moves to make Trump’s crypto 401(k) order law. Link
French ODDO BHF launches Euro-backed stablecoin EUROD. Link
Sky launches its first risk capital token stUSDS. Link
S&P Global brings stablecoin risk ratings onchain through the Chainlink partnership. Link
Stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge applies for the national bank trust charter. Link
Binance acquires South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Gopax. Link
Bank of England plans to lift stablecoin limits. Link
Standard Chartered partners with OKX for Europe expansion. Link

That’s all for today’s CEO Briefing.

Best,

Marc & Team

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