Jack Ma, the founder and chairman of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, warned that bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, is a potential bubble, but endorsed blockchain, the tenchnology behind the coin.
The Chinese billionaire expressed his views while speaking at the launch of Ant Financial's blockchain-based money transfers between Hong Kong and the Philippines.
Ant Financial, the financial-technology affiliate of Alibaba, unveiled a joint venture with Standard Chartered Plc and Gcash that uses blockchain for a cross-border remittance service. Ant Financial, which owns online-payments network Alipay, will initiate real-time cash transfers in a digital wallet service through its blockchain joint venture.
Betting on the possibilities of the decentralized ledger, Ma, who is also Ant's controlling shareholder, told that blockchain technology could change the world more than people imagine.
Ma said the company does not currently own any Bitcoin and that it would not add any to its assets.
The highly volatile Bitcoin touched a new 2018 low on last Sunday, at $5,787, around 70% lower than its peak in December 2017, but has regained since then.
Bitcoin is currently trading at $6,097.43, down 2.3 percent over 24 hours with a market cap of $104.38 billion, according to coinmarketcap.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.