The world has been witnessing the hostile nature of China towards cryptocurrencies. From outrightly banning all things crypto to urging prominent tech giants in the region to steer away from the same, China has been making immense noise. Ant Group, an affiliate company of the Alibaba Group, is all set to aid a Malaysian investment bank in rolling out a Bitcoin and crypto trading app in a rather bizarre turn of events.
It was brought to light that Malaysia was doubling down on its interest in crypto. Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad, a prominent private investment bank in the region, has been working towards rolling out a crypto wallet and a trading app.
The bank has reportedly signed a memorandum of understanding with China’s Ant Group. The Bitcoin-based ‘super app’ is expected to entail an array of things, including an e-wallet, stock & crypto trading, FX, and digital investment management. With this partnership, Kenanga will employ mPaaS, this is a mobile development network formulated from AliPay App.
It should be noted that Kenanga began its experimentation with crypto about five years ago. With the current demand for crypto, the bank’s latest move would boost the company’s revenue.
Speaking about the same, Kenanga Group managing director Datuk Chay Wai Leong said,
“We look forward to not only unifying a broad spectrum of financial offerings under one roof but more importantly, to make wealth creation more accessible by democratizing financial services for the millions of Malaysians.”
Why is China’s Ant Group exploring crypto waters?
The latest news surprises many, considering China’s stance on cryptocurrencies. Last month, prominent tech and internet giants of China decided to sign an initiative to ban cryptocurrency and NFTs. In addition, they even pledged that they wouldn’t set up secondary marketplaces. This list included Tencent as well as Ant Group.
It seems like Ant Group was engaging in crypto outside China. Malaysia has been steering towards crypto lately. Several local authorities in the region were urging the government to legalize crypto and NFTs. Amidst this, the region’s Finance Minister remained skeptical about crypto payments. With the intervention of China’s tech giant and crypto laws uncertainty in Malaysia, the ‘super app’ fate remains dubious.
