Original Title: "Entering Ethereum, Jack Ma's Web3 Layout Has Just Begun?"

Original Author: Asher, Odaily Planet Daily

Yesterday, Yunfeng Financial, indirectly owned by Jack Ma, announced that its board of directors had approved the purchase of ETH on the open market as a reserve asset. As of the announcement date, the group has cumulatively purchased 10,000 ETH on the open market, with a total investment cost (including fees and expenses) of $44 million.

In addition, the use of ETH as a reserve asset aligns with the group's layout in cutting-edge areas like Web 3 and can optimize the asset structure, reducing reliance on traditional currencies. In response to this news, Yunfeng Financial (0376.HK) saw a nearly 10% intraday increase.

Yunfeng Financial Stock Price

Jack Ma and Yunfeng Financial

Yunfeng Financial has always been seen as a "Jack Ma Concept Stock".

The controlling shareholder of Yunfeng Financial is Yunfeng Capital, a fund co-founded by Jack Ma and Yu Feng, the founder of Focus Media, in 2010. The "Yun" in the name comes from Jack Ma, and the "Feng" from Yu Feng. According to public data, Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, indirectly owns approximately 11.15% of Yunfeng Financial through Yunfeng Capital, holds 29.85% in Yunfeng Financial Holdings Limited, and holds 40% (non-voting) in Shanghai Yunfeng Innovation.

Jack Ma and Yu Feng

Furthermore, the predecessor of Yunfeng Financial can be traced back to Wangsheng International Securities established in 1982, which went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1987 and gradually grew into a leading local brokerage in Hong Kong. In 2015, the Yunfeng Fund led by Jack Ma and Yu Feng invested HK$3.9 billion in a controlling stake, driving the company's transformation. Subsequently, Yunfeng Financial acquired 60% of American International Group's Asia business (2018) and integrated licenses in securities, insurance, asset management, etc., gradually building a "finance + technology" ecosystem.

Yunfeng Financial's Purchase of Ethereum is Just the Beginning

Yunfeng Financial announced yesterday that it has included Ethereum in its strategic reserve assets. This move marks the beginning of the group's layout in the digital asset and Web 3 fields. In the future, it will continue to promote the strategic use of crypto assets and digital financial innovation, and explore including mainstream tokens such as BTC, SOL in the reserve.

At the same time, the Group plans to deeply integrate digital assets into its own business, explore Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization, and investigate the potential applications of blockchain technology in core businesses such as insurance and asset management, building a "Finance + Technology" ecosystem for the company.

Yunfeng Financial will flexibly adjust the scale of its digital asset reserves according to market development, regulatory environment, and financial conditions. The Group emphasizes that it will continue to accelerate its Web 3 layout in the future, promote financial technology innovation, and enhance customer service experience and financial autonomy.

Strategic Investment in the Pharos Public Chain, Collaborating with Ant Group's AntChain in the RWA Sector

On September 1, Yunfeng Financial announced a strategic cooperation agreement with Ant Group's AntChain and simultaneously made a strategic investment in the Pharos public chain. This collaboration aims to accelerate the integration innovation between Web 3 and traditional finance, and jointly layout the RWA (Real-World Asset) tokenization and Web 3 fields on the Pharos public chain platform.

Pharos Project Overview

Pharos is a next-generation Layer 1 public chain focused on RWA.

In terms of performance, the network features a modular design and high parallelism. The TPS of the currently launched testnet can reach 30,000, far exceeding other EVM and parallel networks. Additionally, Pharos adopts an innovative GPU-like architecture that improves storage efficiency by 80%, capable of supporting tens of billions of users. The Pharos core team consists of Web 2 experts from Ant Group and Alibaba Blockchain, as well as seasoned professionals from the Web 3 industry.

In terms of funding, on November 8, 2024, Pharos completed an $8 million seed round of funding, led by Faction and Hack VC, with participation from SNZ Holding, Hash Global, MH Ventures, Dispersion Capital, Generative Ventures, and Chorus One.

Second Quarter of Testnet Underway

Currently, Pharos has opened the second season of its testnet for early user experience, with the following specific interaction steps:

STEP 1. Claim test coins, you can choose to first claim 0G test coins (Link: https://hub.0g.ai/faucet), and exchange them for PHRS test coins.

STEP 2. Enter the Season 2 interactive website (Link: https://testnet.pharosnetwork.xyz/experience), connect your wallet, and complete the daily check-in.

STEP 3. Complete on-chain interactive tasks and social tasks as required.

Summary

Yunfeng Financial, indirectly held by Jack Ma, strategically positioned itself with Ethereum, showcasing not only a belief in emerging technologies but also a forward-looking exploration of financial architecture.

From a holistic strategic perspective, Yunfeng Financial, by increasing its exposure to digital assets, has taken a crucial step towards optimizing its reserves, reducing reliance on traditional fiat currencies on one hand, and on the other hand, is exploring the deep integration of traditional financial services with Web 3 technology, particularly in the insurance, securities, and other fields to explore blockchain's application scenarios.

With Hong Kong's regulatory advantage in digital assets, Yunfeng Financial is poised to become a vital bridge between traditional finance and the crypto ecosystem. Perhaps, for Jack Ma, the 10,000 ETH purchased by Yunfeng Financial is just the beginning of its Web 3 layout—the true digital financial landscape is just beginning to unfold.

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