Ant Group, the parent company of the world’s largest mobile payment platform, Alipay, has unveiled its new subsidiary named ZAN, signaling its intent to distance itself from its Web3 affiliations as it prepares for an IPO.
ZAN is set to be a dedicated sub-brand focused on blockchain development and services, catering to both institutional and individual Web3 developers. The official announcement, made on September 8, outlines an extensive range of technical offerings that ZAN plans to provide.
Among its key offerings, ZAN will offer solutions to assist Web3 companies in issuing and managing real-world assets (RWAs) while ensuring compliance with local regulatory requirements. Additionally, ZAN will offer a suite of technical products, including Electronic Know Your Customer (KYC) services, Anti-Money Laundering (AML) solutions, and Know Your Transaction (KYT) checks tailored for the Web3 sector.
Furthermore, ZAN is poised to offer services such as smart contract reviews and node services, including remote procedure calls designed to facilitate the development of decentralized applications (DApps).
During the Hong Kong Web3 Festival in April, HashKey DID, a Web3 decentralized identity data aggregator, had already announced its adoption of ZAN’s electronic KYC services, solidifying its early partnership with the new brand.
Reports from July indicated that Ant Group was contemplating separating its blockchain branch from its primary entity as part of its plan to apply for a financial holding license in China.
Ant Group had originally sought a valuation of $226 billion with a massive $30 billion initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong and Shanghai in 2020. If successful, it would have been the largest IPO in history, surpassing records set by the Saudi Aramco IPO, which raised $29.4 billion. However, the Chinese government intervened, blocking the IPO.