Breaking news has emerged that Ant International has officially announced its application for a stablecoin license in Hong Kong. As the parent company of Alipay, this move by Ant Group signifies that a payment technology giant with a vast user base is officially entering the digital currency space.

According to reports, Ant Group's proprietary blockchain technology processed approximately $1 trillion in transaction volume last year. If these transactions are settled through compliant stablecoins in the future, it could significantly reduce the high fee issues faced by traditional cross-border remittances. Currently, cross-border payment fees generally remain at about 3%, and the time for funds to arrive is relatively long, while stablecoin technology is expected to greatly reduce fees to near zero cost, while also enabling instant settlement, which is a significant benefit for small and medium-sized enterprises as well as individual users.

The market reacted strongly to this news, with related concept stocks showing significant increases in the Hong Kong stock market, and some stocks even nearly doubling in a single day.

However, the entry threshold for stablecoin licenses in Hong Kong is not low, requiring a capital of 25 million HKD along with a 100% reserve requirement, which means that only large technology financial companies like Ant Group and JD.com have the capability to compete. This has also raised concerns about the possibility of the future stablecoin market being dominated by a few large enterprises.

It is worth noting that the regulatory environment in Hong Kong focuses on both preventing risks such as money laundering and supporting financial innovation. Industry experts predict that it may take another 2-3 years for the stablecoin business to fully develop. If the offshore RMB stablecoin project progresses smoothly, it could even have a profound impact on the existing international payment system.

For ordinary users, this represents a gradual expansion of opportunities to access compliant digital assets, and it also signifies that the trend of integration between payment technology and digital currencies is accelerating.