Ant Group accelerates its Web3 layout, will 60 billion yuan of Chinese energy assets be tokenized on the chain?

In the wave of accelerated integration between technology and finance globally, China's tech giant Ant Group is quietly launching a large-scale experiment aimed at tokenizing Chinese energy infrastructure valued at 60 billion RMB (approximately 8.4 billion USD) and placing it on its self-developed blockchain network. This ambitious plan is not only a significant layout by Ant Group in the blockchain field but is also seen as a milestone exploration in the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA), signaling the enormous potential of the combination of traditional industries and digital finance.

Digital certificates of Blockchain

The core executor of the plan is the technology department of Ant Group - Ant Digital Technologies. It is reported that Ant Digital Technologies is using its proprietary "AntChain" platform to connect and monitor renewable energy assets across China on a large scale. These assets include wind turbines and solar panels distributed throughout the country, and currently, real-time data from approximately 15 million new energy devices has been successfully "on-chain."

This process goes far beyond simple data recording. Through Internet of Things (IoT) devices, Ant Chain can continuously collect key information such as the power generation, operational status, and even potential faults of each energy device. Once this data is written to the Blockchain, it possesses the characteristics of immutability and high transparency. This not only provides a reliable basis for the operation and maintenance of assets, but more importantly, it lays a solid data foundation for the next step of asset tokenization.

The ultimate goal of Ant Group is to issue digital tokens that represent partial ownership or income rights to these energy assets, based on verified and trustworthy on-chain data. Each token will become a "digital certificate" of the future cash flows of the underlying physical assets it represents. In theory, investors holding these tokens will proportionally own a part of these wind farms or solar power plants and have the right to share in the net income they generate.

This grand vision is not a castle in the air. In fact, Ant Group has successfully put this model into practice, completing the financing of three clean energy projects, raising a total of approximately 300 million yuan (about 42 million U.S. dollars).

In August 2023, Ant Group collaborated with Longshine Technology Group to put more than 9,000 of its charging stations' assets on the blockchain, successfully obtaining financing of 100 million RMB (approximately 14 million USD) from an overseas bank based on this. In December of the same year, Ant Group assisted GCL Energy Technology in putting its photovoltaic power generation assets on the blockchain and tokenization, further raising 200 million RMB (approximately 28 million USD) from overseas investors. These cases clearly demonstrate the commercial viability of this model: enhancing the transparency and credibility of assets through blockchain technology, thereby attracting traditional financial institutions, especially overseas capital seeking green and sustainable investment opportunities.

For this massive asset pool valued at 60 billion, Ant Group's vision goes beyond initial financing. Its longer-term goal is to consider listing these energy tokens on overseas decentralized exchanges (DEX), thereby creating a global, highly liquid secondary market. If realized, investors around the world, whether institutional or individual, will be able to conveniently invest in China's green energy industry, which will greatly expand financing channels and enhance asset value.

However, this step faces enormous practical challenges, the most critical of which is regulatory approval. Although Ant Group has not commented on this plan, it is widely believed that any action to list tokens on overseas exchanges must obtain strict approval from the relevant Chinese regulatory authorities. Against the backdrop of China's cautious attitude towards cryptocurrencies and cross-border capital flows, this approval process will be fraught with uncertainty.

Industry experts point out that even if these tokens are successfully issued, their early market may primarily be dominated by institutional and professional investors, rather than large-scale retail participation. In addition, the generally insufficient liquidity in the secondary market that RWA projects face will also be a major challenge that Ant Group needs to address.

Comprehensive Web3 Landscape

It is worth noting that Ant Group's ambitions in the blockchain field are not limited to the RWA project for energy assets. It is adopting a "dual-track approach" to comprehensively lay out the Web3 ecosystem.

Another key battleground is stablecoins. Ant Group's overseas business division — Ant International, has publicly stated that it is applying for a stablecoin issuance license in Hong Kong. There is a natural synergy between stablecoins and RWA: stablecoins can serve as an ideal medium for trading and settling RWA assets, providing an efficient and low-cost layer for value transfer. If Ant can achieve breakthroughs in both RWA and compliant stablecoins, it is expected to build a strong and self-consistent digital financial ecosystem.

In addition, Yunfeng Financial, co-founded by Jack Ma, has also been actively laying out digital assets in recent years, not only publicly purchasing Ether (ETH) as a corporate strategic reserve but also actively exploring the application of RWA, which resonates with the strategic direction of Ant Group.

In summary, Ant Group plans to tokenize 60 billion RMB of energy assets, which is one of the most ambitious attempts globally to combine physical industrial assets with blockchain technology to date. It not only demonstrates Ant Group's profound layout in the Web3 field but also provides an imaginative model for how to leverage technology to revitalize traditional assets and empower green finance.

Despite the fog of regulations still clouding the path to global liquidity, Ant Group has taken a solid first step through robust underlying technology construction and successful financing practices. This transformation initiated by a technology giant is attempting to open a door to the digital world for the vast real-world assets, and its subsequent developments will undoubtedly have a profound impact on the global finance and energy industries.

#The total scale of RWA continues to grow