Ant International has completed a roughly $1.2 billion Series A funding round, securing backing from Ant Group, Alibaba, existing shareholders, and global investment firms to expand its international fintech business and AI capabilities.

Chinese media outlet Yicai reported on Tuesday that the financing will support Ant International’s global expansion, increase investment in artificial intelligence, and extend services including cross-border payments and global accounts. The company said the capital will also help merchants grow through its international financial technology offerings.

The financing follows months of investor interest in Ant International as the Singapore-based unit continued expanding outside mainland China. In June, Bloomberg reported that the company had been exploring a fundraising round of about $1 billion at a valuation of at least $10 billion after recording eight consecutive quarters of profitability, citing people familiar with the matter.

Funding backs AI and international payments strategy

The newly completed Series A round included participation from Ant Group, several existing shareholders including Alibaba, and multiple international investment institutions, according to Yicai. The company did not identify the outside investors participating in the financing.

According to the report, the fresh capital will be directed toward growing Ant International’s presence across overseas markets while increasing spending on AI technologies. The company also plans to expand inclusive fintech products focused on cross-border payments and global account services for businesses operating internationally.

Ant International has become the centerpiece of Ant Group’s overseas business after the parent company reorganized several units into independently governed businesses. On March 19, 2024, Ant Group Chairman Eric Jing announced that Ant International, OceanBase, and Ant Digital had each established separate boards of directors to operate independently in the market.

The current leadership team includes Jing as chairman, Yang Peng as chief executive officer, and Douglas Feagin as president, according to the local report.

Operating from Singapore, Ant International now serves markets across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. The company says its network connects more than 150 million merchants with over 2 billion consumer accounts through innovation, settlement, and operational centers in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia.

Its business is organized into four operating units: Alipay+, merchant payments platform Antom, cross-border financial services provider WorldFirst, and Bettr, which develops AI-powered treasury management and fintech products for businesses.

Global expansion builds on blockchain and stablecoin plans

The latest financing comes as Ant International continues expanding its blockchain-powered payments infrastructure and regulated digital asset initiatives.

Bloomberg reported in June that Ant International generated an estimated $3.7 billion in revenue during 2025, an increase of about 25% from the previous year. Although the business accounted for roughly one-tenth of Ant Group’s total revenue, Bloomberg said its international operations had been growing faster than several of the company’s domestic businesses.

A large part of that international strategy centers on cross-border payments. Ant International previously said its Alipay+ network operates in more than 100 markets, allowing consumers to pay with their existing digital wallets while merchants receive settlements through local payment systems.

Supporting that network is Whale, the company’s blockchain platform. According to previous company figures cited by Bloomberg, Ant International processed more than $1 trillion in global transactions during 2024, with about one-third of those payments settled through blockchain infrastructure.

The company has also been extending the platform into enterprise treasury management. Previous collaborations with Standard Chartered included blockchain-based liquidity transfers denominated in Singapore dollars after earlier Hong Kong dollar settlement trials under the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Ensemble Sandbox initiative for tokenization.

At the same time, Ant International has been incorporating regulated digital assets into its payment infrastructure. Earlier this year, the company integrated Circle’s USDC stablecoin into parts of its cross-border settlement network, allowing selected transactions to settle over blockchain rails instead of relying entirely on traditional correspondent banking systems.

Regulated stablecoins are expected to become another part of Ant International’s international strategy. Bloomberg reported in June 2025 that the company planned to apply for stablecoin issuer licenses in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Luxembourg. A company spokesperson confirmed at the time that it would seek a fiat-referenced stablecoin issuer license in Hong Kong after the city’s Stablecoins Ordinance took effect, with applications in Singapore and Luxembourg expected to follow.

Speaking previously at the Singapore FinTech Festival, Ant Group Chairman Eric Jing said artificial intelligence and tokenized settlement technologies could make financial services more accessible, underscoring the technologies the company continues to prioritize as it expands its international business.

United Stables has adopted Chainlink as the official oracle and cross-chain infrastructure for its U stablecoin after the asset surpassed $1 billion in circulating supply and more than $2.5 billion in daily trading volume.

According to an announcement from United Stables, the company has integrated Chainlink’s data and interoperability products to strengthen pricing, reserve verification, and future cross-chain transfers for U, its dollar-pegged stablecoin launched on BNB Chain and Ethereum in December 2025.

The rollout includes Chainlink Data Feeds and Proof of Reserve, both of which are now live. United Stables said it also plans to integrate Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) to support secure transfers of U between blockchain networks as the stablecoin expands across the multi-chain ecosystem.

The company said the decision followed a review of security standards across the industry after recent incidents exposed weaknesses in legacy oracle and bridge infrastructure. According to United Stables, fragmented liquidity, unverified pricing, and vulnerabilities in cross-chain transfers were among the issues it sought to address by adopting Chainlink’s infrastructure.

Data feeds, reserve verification go live

Under the integration, Chainlink Data Feeds now provide decentralized pricing data that United Stables said supports more than 20 lending protocols. At the same time, Chainlink Proof of Reserve allows users and protocols to verify the collateral backing U through on-chain cryptographic checks.

United Stables launched U in December 2025 as a fully backed stablecoin designed for trading, payments, decentralized finance, institutional settlement, and AI-driven applications. At launch, the company said U was backed one-to-one by cash and audited stablecoins including USDC, USDT, and USD1, with reserves held in segregated accounts and verified through on-chain Proof of Reserve alongside quarterly independent audits.

Athena, chief executive officer of United Stables, said the Chainlink integration allows users, institutional partners, and decentralized finance protocols to access verified pricing data, independently confirm U’s collateral around the clock, and eventually transfer the stablecoin securely across multiple blockchain networks.

She added that the company views cryptographic verification as a core requirement for building trust as U expands beyond its initial deployments.

Johann Eid, chief business officer at Chainlink Labs, said the infrastructure would allow United Stables to extend U across decentralized finance while relying on Chainlink’s decentralized oracle and interoperability network. According to Eid, the platform is designed to support institutional-scale stablecoin activity across multiple blockchains.

CCIP planned for future multi-chain transfers

Beyond the services already deployed, United Stables said it intends to adopt Chainlink CCIP to power cross-chain transfers of U. According to the company, the protocol is expected to reduce friction when liquidity moves between supported blockchain networks while providing an additional security layer for interoperability.

For United Stables, the announcement builds on the roadmap introduced when U launched late last year. Alongside decentralized finance integrations with platforms including PancakeSwap, ListaDAO, Aster, and Four.meme, the company said it plans to add confidential balances and AI-focused payment capabilities through technologies such as EIP-3009 and delegated transaction execution.

According to United Stables, combining its liquidity infrastructure with Chainlink’s oracle, reserve verification, and interoperability products is intended to provide transparent collateral verification, secure pricing data, and future cross-chain functionality as U continues expanding across BNB Chain, Ethereum, TRON, and other supported blockchain networks.

CCIP has become one of Chainlink’s main products for blockchain interoperability over the past year. Earlier this month, Aave expanded its use of the protocol by making CCIP the default cross-chain infrastructure across the Aave App and Stable Vaults. According to Aave, the same infrastructure now handles token transfers, vault rebalancing, governance execution, deposits, withdrawals, and yield optimization instead of relying on separate systems for different cross-chain functions.

Aave also said CCIP already powers transfers of its GHO stablecoin across supported networks through Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Token standard. Cross-chain governance proposals are also executed through the Aave Delivery Infrastructure, which uses CCIP to relay approved governance actions from Ethereum to other blockchain networks where Aave operates.

Security has remained a key part of CCIP’s design. According to Aave, every bridge lane is secured by at least 16 independent node operators distributed across different organizations and regions, while built-in rate limits restrict the amount of value that can move during abnormal conditions.

Chainlink continues institutional expansion

The latest integration adds to Chainlink’s growing presence across both decentralized finance and institutional financial infrastructure.

In June, Chainlink joined Project Pangea, a bank-backed initiative focused on testing stablecoin-based foreign exchange settlement between Europe and South Korea. According to Chainlink, the project includes FairSquareLab, UniKA, and Qivalis, representing more than 50 banks with over $10 trillion in assets under management. The initiative uses Chainlink infrastructure alongside ISO 20022 messaging and existing SWIFT systems to test atomic payment-versus-payment settlement using compliant euro and South Korean won stablecoins.

Chainlink has also expanded into traditional market infrastructure. In January, BitMEX said it would use Chainlink Data Streams to provide pricing for its planned Equity Perpetuals, allowing the exchange to support perpetual contracts linked to stocks and exchange-traded funds using continuous market data from multiple sources.

CoinShares has entered Europe’s €26.3 trillion UCITS fund market with the launch of a regulated Bitcoin mining ETF, opening its digital asset strategies to institutional investors whose mandates previously restricted access to its products.

Digital asset investment firm CoinShares announced on Tuesday that it has launched a UCITS platform alongside the debut of the CoinShares Bitcoin Mining UCITS ETF, a move that allows the company to offer regulated investment funds under one of Europe’s most widely used fund structures.

The first product under the platform, the CoinShares Bitcoin Mining UCITS ETF, began trading on Deutsche Börse Xetra on Tuesday. The company said the launch is intended to make its investment strategies available to institutional investors across Europe, including pension funds, insurance companies, and private banks that generally invest through UCITS-compliant vehicles.

For CoinShares, the change is less about introducing a new investment strategy than removing a structural barrier that limited access to existing ones. The company said many institutional mandates prohibit investments in debt securities, including exchange-traded products backed by physical digital assets, preventing a large pool of investors from allocating capital despite growing interest in the sector.

By using the UCITS framework, CoinShares said those investors can now access regulated digital asset investment products through a structure already accepted under their internal investment rules.

“This is not simply the launch of another investment product. It marks our entry into the UCITS market with a platform that allows us to develop and launch regulated investment funds under one of the world’s most widely recognised fund frameworks,” said CoinShares co-founder, president and CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti.

The company added that the platform operates on a largely fixed cost base and is designed to generate operating leverage as additional funds are introduced. It also said the UCITS structure will support future launches covering both digital asset products and thematic investment strategies.

Platform targets regulated institutional capital

UCITS, short for Undertakings for the Collective Investment in Transferable Securities, is the European regulatory framework governing investment funds that can be marketed across member states. Because many institutional investors already allocate capital through UCITS funds, the structure has become one of the region’s standard formats for cross-border investment products.

CoinShares said adopting the framework allows it to reach investors that previously could not participate because of mandate restrictions rather than a lack of interest in digital assets.

The company’s latest annual report also points to a period of financial expansion. CoinShares generated more than $165.7 million in revenue during 2025, its first full year after listing in the United States earlier this year. Shares of the Nasdaq-listed company closed 2.1% lower at $4.11 on Monday before the announcement.

Against that backdrop, the UCITS platform gives CoinShares a regulated framework that aligns with existing investment mandates instead of requiring institutions to modify internal policies before gaining exposure to digital asset strategies.

The company said it intends to build on that foundation by introducing additional regulated funds over time as institutional demand for digital asset investment products continues to develop.

The launch also follows several initiatives by CoinShares to deepen its presence in institutional markets beyond exchange-traded crypto products.

Earlier this year, the company published research showing that many traditional wealth managers still struggle to incorporate clients’ digital asset exposure into portfolio management because of internal compliance rules.

A June survey conducted by CoinShares among 261 wealth management professionals across Europe found that 52% of UK financial advisers said most of their clients’ cryptocurrency holdings remained outside their visibility. Across France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, the figure fell to 25%.

The same survey found that 61% of respondents worked at firms that either restricted digital assets or had no formal policy governing them.

At the time, Mognetti argued that internal firm policies, rather than adviser knowledge or client demand, had become the primary obstacle. According to him, many advisers cannot account for crypto holdings when managing portfolios because company rules prevent them from discussing or supervising those assets, leaving them without a complete view of client wealth.

CoinShares said such restrictions create operational challenges because advisers are expected to manage portfolios while lacking visibility into part of their clients’ investments.

Institutional adoption continues to evolve

Institutional participation in digital assets has remained uneven over the past several months as investment flows responded to changing market conditions.

In a June research report based on U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 13F filings, CoinShares said hedge funds reduced their exposure to U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds by 39% during the first quarter. The report showed professional investors lowered combined holdings from approximately 313,000 BTC to 261,000 BTC after Bitcoin declined sharply during the period.

According to CoinShares digital asset analyst Matt Kimmell, the reduction resembled previous Bitcoin downturns, when leveraged and tactical investors typically trimmed positions as prices weakened.

The same report also showed different behavior across institutional groups. While hedge funds and brokerages reduced exposure significantly, banks increased their Bitcoin ETF holdings during the quarter, suggesting not all professional investors responded to market volatility in the same way.

Alongside market developments, European regulation has continued to shape how investment firms package crypto-related products for institutional clients.

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