Ant launched the blockchain project in September last year with the aim of building a critical technology company at the heart of Web3, in the same way that Google and Microsoft became essential service providers for traditional industries in the Web 2.0 era, Zan CEO Cobe Zhang Chenguang told the Post on Thursday.
“We hope to bring the technology services that Ant has accumulated over the years, including not only blockchain but also those we have developed in the field of financial compliance, to Web3 developers,” Zhang said.
He added that Zan aims for its suite of technical solutions for Web3 developers, including services as a node provider and know-your-customer verification, to achieve the largest market share in Asia-Pacific within two to three years, Zhang said.
According to Zhang, Ant set up Zan in Hong Kong to expand its blockchain services outside mainland China.
“AntChain has already risen to the top of the blockchain market in mainland China,” Zhang said. “Establishing an entity in Hong Kong gives us more freedom to explore, given the city’s favorable policy direction and environment.”
Mainland China is relatively conservative about some Web3 innovations, and Ant hopes to do more “future-oriented” things in Hong Kong’s “open environment,” he added.
Over the years, the Chinese government has intensified its crackdown on cryptocurrencies – the primary use case for blockchain technology today – claiming that they disrupt the economic and financial order and provide fertile ground for criminal activity.
“Trading tokenized assets and funds on the blockchain has a similar technical model to current public blockchains, but it takes place in a more regulated and secure environment, where you won’t lose money because of a private key,” Zhang said.
“This makes it more user-friendly for the general public.”
