Ant Group, which is backed by Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) founder Jack Ma, denied reports that its unit had entered a partnership with stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group Inc (NYSE:CRCL), Chinese media reported on Friday.
Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Ant International was working with Circle to adopt its stablecoin on the firm’s blockchain platform.
But Ant denied the report, Chinese media outlet Yicai reported, and said that the company had no such cooperation plans in the works.
The report of the partnership comes as Hong Kong prepares to issue licenses to stablecoin issuers from August 1, after the city’s government approved a bill aimed at establishing a stablecoin regulatory framework.
While cryptocurrencies are effectively banned in China, Hong Kong still allows the trade of some crypto. The city is also vying to position itself as a major Asian crypto hub, having passed a slew of pro-crypto legislation over the past year.
