A unit of the Chinese fintech conglomerate Ant Group is tokenizing more than $8 billion worth of energy infrastructure on its own blockchain. 

Ant Digital Technologies, the enterprise solutions arm of the Jack Ma-backed Ant Group, is in the process of tokenizing 60 billion yuan ($8.4 billion) of power infrastructure on its AntChain network, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. 

The company has been monitoring power output and outages from 15 million energy devices, including wind turbines and solar panels across China, and uploading this data to their blockchain, according to the report. 

Ant Digital has already completed financing for three clean energy projects using asset tokenization, raising about 300 million yuan ($42 million) total, and its next step will be to issue tokens linked to those assets. 

One of the company’s future expansion options is putting tokens on decentralized offshore exchanges to create more liquidity for the assets, but this is subject to regulatory approval, according to the anonymous sources. 

Ant already tokenizing energy assets 

Ant Digital raised 100 million yuan ($14 million) for energy firm Longshine Technology Group in August 2024, and linked 9,000 of its electric charging units to AntChain. 

In December, it secured over 200 million yuan ($28 million) for GCL Energy Technology by connecting photovoltaic assets to its blockchain.

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Asset tokenization allows companies to bypass traditional financial intermediaries by issuing digital tokens directly to investors. 

This provides several benefits, such as cutting out middlemen like loan officers and underwriters, reducing costs and speeding up funding access, and opening investment opportunities to retail investors typically excluded from infrastructure financing.

Stablecoin ambitions

Ant Group also has grand stablecoin ambitions.

In July, it was reported that Ant Group was working with stablecoin issuer Circle to integrate USDC into its blockchain platform. 

Meanwhile, the group’s global division, Ant International, has been leveraging infrastructure for cross-border corporate payments and applying for stablecoin-related licenses.

RWA onchain value at record high

Real-world asset tokenization is still a nascent sector; however, onchain value has almost doubled since the beginning of this year, reaching a record high of $28.4 billion this week, according to RWA.xyz. 

More than half of this total is tokenized private credit, while just over a quarter of it is tokenized US Treasurys. Ethereum remains the market-dominant chain for tokenizing RWA with a 57% market share.

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The international arm of Ant Group, the company backed by Alibaba founder Jack Ma, plans to bring Circle’s USDC stablecoin onto its proprietary blockchain.

The rollout will start once U.S. regulators certify the dollar-pegged token under the new federal rules, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the deal.

The move would give USDC a link to a network that processed more than $1 trillion in global payments last year, a third of them settled on-chain. That scale could make Ant the largest overseas corporate user of a U.S.-issued stablecoin.

Ant International is also applying for stablecoin licenses in Singapore, Hong Kong and Luxembourg, according to the report. The group wants regulated digital dollars, central bank digital currencies and tokenized bank deposits to sit side by side on its platform.

The company’s blockchain currently supports tokenized assets from various financial institutions and has reportedly been working with the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) on the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital yuan.

Circle shares rose nearly 3.8% in pre-market trading to $208.

China’s JD.com and Ant Group are pressing the central bank to permit yuan-based stablecoins to counter the rise of U.S. dollar-linked digital currencies, Reuters reported on Friday.

They propose launching stablecoins in Hong Kong backed by the offshore yuan, aiming to boost the Chinese currency’s global role.

Both firms already plan to issue Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoins once local legislation begins August 1.

However, JD.com is advocating for offshore yuan stablecoins as a strategic move to support yuan internationalization. The push reflects China’s broader ambitions to challenge U.S. dominance in digital finance and expand the reach of its currency globally.

China has a long-standing ban on cryptocurrency transactions, which extends to most private stablecoins. This ban, particularly intensified in 2021, was motivated by concerns over financial crime, capital flight, and potential threats to financial stability.

As a counter, China poured resources into developing and piloting its own digital yuan (e-CNY). This central bank digital currency (CBDC) is seen as a way to modernize its payment system and exert greater control over its financial landscape.

Read more: Jack Ma’s Ant International Seeks Stablecoin Licenses in Hong Kong, Singapore: Bloomberg