Ant Group has applied to register several trademarks related to virtual assets and blockchain technology in Hong Kong, including one for “ANTCOIN.”
The company submitted applications with Hong Kong’s Intellectual Property Department covering digital wallets, stablecoins, and online payments.
The ANTCOIN application, submitted in June, remains pending.
The filings include registrations for online payments, electronic wallets, foreign exchange services, and the issuance and transfer of stablecoins and digital tokens, according to CoinSpeaker.
Joshua Chu, lawyer and co-chair of the Hong Kong Web3 Association, said the trademark applications are a way to protect Ant Group’s interests in Hong Kong’s virtual asset sector.
“Trademark protection serves as risk management, particularly against unauthorised or fraudulent tokens that could misuse the company’s brand,”
he noted.
Earlier in October 2025, Beijing reportedly ordered major technology firms, including Ant Group, to suspend stablecoin-related initiatives in Hong Kong.
The trademark filings were made before this directive.
In July, Ant Group partnered with Circle to pilot USDC-based cross-border payments between Ant International’s Alipay+ network and select global merchants.
The partnership integrated a regulated stablecoin into Ant’s payment infrastructure as the US$316 billion stablecoin market continues to expand.
In September 2025, Ant Digital Technologies launched a blockchain platform to tokenize energy assets in China, linking around US$8 billion of infrastructure to on-chain systems.
The move came amid broader interest from Chinese financial institutions in digital assets, including China Renaissance’s US$600 million BNB fund raised alongside YZi Labs.
Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Hong Kong, based on image by wirestock via Freepik