Ant Digital, the blockchain division of Ant Group, describes Jovay as a “compliance-first, AI-assisted scaling network” that aims to integrate real-world data and value flows into decentralized finance.
The platform uses dual provers, a zero-knowledge and optimistic hybrid, to ensure both scalability and verifiability. It deliberately launches without a native token, signaling a focus on enterprise and institutional adoption rather than retail speculation.
The implications are vast. Alipay has 1.4 billion monthly active users and handles trillions in payment volume annually. If even a fraction of that activity migrates to Ethereum rails through Jovay, the network could become one of global finance’s most consequential infrastructure bridges.
This would be significantly higher than what is currently obtainable in the Ethereum layer-2 ecosystem, which is led by Coinbase-backed Base. According to L2Beats data, Base processes roughly 93 TPS.
Yet most of that liquidity remains confined to niche protocols with limited regulatory clarity.
Jovay’s model introduces a five-stage pipeline: asset registration, structuring, tokenization, issuance, and trading. Each step embeds verification checkpoints and off-chain data attestations, effectively giving regulators the same line of sight they would have in traditional finance.
By integrating AntChain’s enterprise registry with Ethereum, Jovay could enable bilateral settlements between licensed institutions and on-chain liquidity providers.
For instance, a bank issuing a digital bond on Jovay could settle instantly with a DeFi counterparty without exposing internal data or violating jurisdictional controls.
“This isn’t another startup experiment. It’s a signal that the next phase of global finance is being built on Ethereum rails…In China, Alipay isn’t an app; it’s an infrastructure layer for daily life, payments, loans, insurance, identity, mobility, and more. And now, Ant Group is taking that infrastructure onchain.”
Ant Group’s foray into Ethereum signals a structural shift in how global fintechs view blockchain risk.
By building Jovay on Ethereum rather than a proprietary network, Ant effectively validates public infrastructure as a foundation for institutional finance.
Moreover, the move is a hedge against technological isolation and a play for interoperability because any asset minted on Jovay can, in principle, access Ethereum’s $100-billion DeFi ecosystem.
The cost profile supports the move.
For Ant, that efficiency translates into cheaper settlements for its billion-scale user base.
Jovay’s debut also reflects Ethereum’s slow conquest of institutional trust. What once looked like a volatile experiment has become a neutral settlement layer that banks and fintech giants can rely on without ceding control.
If Jovay gains traction, Ethereum’s tokenized finance share could expand beyond today’s RWA niche.
This would mean that every new asset class brought on-chain, including energy credits and local government bonds, will create fresh demand for ETH block space and liquidity routing.
Like Khan said, Ant’s move suggests that the next billion users won’t arrive through memecoins or yield farming.
Instead, they’ll show up because their assets, savings, and credit instruments quietly migrate onto compliant rails that run on Ethereum.
