tl;dr
Ant Group's Jovay launches as a Layer-2 Ethereum blockchain, aiming to bridge real-world assets to DeFi with institutional-grade scalability and compliance, signaling a seismic shift in global finance.
**Ant Group's Jovay: Bridging Real-World Assets to Ethereum's Future**
In a bold move that signals a seismic shift in digital finance, Ant Group—the Chinese fintech giant behind Alipay—has launched **Jovay**, a Layer-2 (L2) blockchain built atop Ethereum. This initiative marks a wager that the next evolution of finance will not originate in traditional banks but on decentralized infrastructure. By leveraging Ethereum’s robust ecosystem, Ant Group aims to bridge real-world assets (RWAs) onto the blockchain at an institutional scale, potentially reshaping the landscape of global finance.
### What is Jovay?
Jovay, developed by Ant Digital (Ant Group’s blockchain division), positions itself as a “compliance-first, AI-assisted scaling network.” Its mission is to integrate real-world data and value flows into decentralized finance (DeFi), creating a seamless connection between traditional finance and blockchain.
The platform employs a **hybrid of zero-knowledge and optimistic provers** to balance scalability and verifiability, ensuring security without compromising speed. Notably, Jovay launches without a native token, a strategic choice to prioritize enterprise adoption over retail speculation. This approach underscores Ant Group’s focus on institutional clients, aiming to attract banks, regulators, and large-scale financial entities.
### Scalability and Institutional Ambitions
Jovay’s technical specifications are ambitious. During testnet trials, the network achieved **15,700–22,000 transactions per second (TPS)**, with targets to reach **100,000 TPS** through node clustering and horizontal expansion. This outpaces Ethereum’s current Layer-2 leaders, such as Coinbase-backed Base, which processes around 93 TPS.
The implications are vast. With Alipay’s 1.4 billion monthly active users and trillions in annual payment volume, even a fraction of this activity migrating to Ethereum via Jovay could cement the network as a cornerstone of global finance infrastructure.
### The RWA Revolution
Real-world assets (RWAs)—including tokenized treasuries, invoices, and funds—are Ethereum’s fastest-growing segment. According to RWA.xyz, tokenized RWAs on Ethereum now exceed **$12 billion in value**, a 300% surge since early 2024. However, much of this liquidity remains confined to niche protocols with regulatory uncertainties.
Jovay’s five-stage pipeline—**asset registration, structuring, tokenization, issuance, and trading**—embeds verification checkpoints and off-chain data attestations, offering regulators the same oversight as traditional finance. By integrating AntChain’s enterprise registry with Ethereum, Jovay enables **bilateral settlements** between licensed institutions and on-chain liquidity providers. For example, a bank could issue a digital bond on Jovay and settle it instantly with a DeFi counterpart without exposing sensitive data or violating jurisdictional rules.
### A Macro Bet on Ethereum
Ant Group’s decision to build Jovay on Ethereum reflects a broader shift in fintech’s perception of blockchain. For years, enterprises favored permissioned ledgers like Hyperledger to avoid volatility and public-chain risks. However, Ethereum’s maturation as a neutral, scalable settlement layer has changed this calculus.
By anchoring Jovay to Ethereum, Ant Group validates public infrastructure as a foundation for institutional finance. This move also serves as a hedge against technological isolation, enabling interoperability with Ethereum’s $100 billion DeFi ecosystem.
Cost efficiency further supports this strategy. Reports indicate that Coinbase’s Base network has generated less than **$5 million in fees** for Ethereum’s layer-1 validators since 2023—a 98% cost savings compared to standalone chains. For Ant, this translates to cheaper settlements for its vast user base.
### Ethereum’s Quiet Victory
Jovay’s launch underscores Ethereum’s growing institutional trust. Once viewed as a volatile experiment, the blockchain has evolved into a reliable infrastructure for global finance. If Jovay gains traction, Ethereum’s role in tokenized finance could expand beyond RWAs, encompassing energy credits, local government bonds, and more.
As Abbas Khan, a Founders Success Manager at the Ethereum Foundation, notes: *“This isn’t another startup experiment. It’s a signal that the next phase of global finance is being built on Ethereum rails.”*
### The Future of Finance
Ant Group’s move suggests that the next wave of users—billions of people—will not arrive through memecoins or yield farming but via compliant, real-world asset onboarding. By leveraging Ethereum’s infrastructure, Jovay could become the bridge between traditional finance and the decentralized future, proving that the blockchain’s potential lies not in speculation but in utility.
As the lines between centralized and decentralized systems blur, Ethereum’s role as the backbone of global finance grows ever more critical. And with Ant Group’s bet, the future of finance is not just onchain—it’s on Ethereum.