Cai Chongxin is about to become the chairman of Alibaba, is it crypto-friendly?

I just wrote about Alibaba Cloud’s Web3 layout before, and saw the following news, and I’ll post an excerpt for your reference! I hope Alibaba Cloud can become a good promoter in the Web3 industry in the future.

Alibaba (NYSE: BABA ) announced Tuesday that Joe Tsai, one of its founders, will take over as the company's chairman in September. The leadership shakeup also saw the company separate its technology services from its retail division and appoint Wu Yongming as its new chief executive.

For those who are optimistic about China's encryption industry, the above job scheduling may be a very important change. After all, Cai Chongxin is an active cryptocurrency supporter and even an active Web3 investor. , which more or less means that Alibaba may be gearing up to welcome the arrival of China's new future of Web3 and cryptocurrency.

Who is Cai Chongxin?

Tsai Chongxin first publicly expressed his interest in the Web3 space in December 2021, when he sent a short tweet: "I like cryptocurrencies." During the period, he became a fairly active investor in the industry.

His family office, Blue Pool Capital, was a shareholder in FTX and participated in two rounds of fundraising, according to court documents. In addition, Tsai Chongxin has also participated in other well-known investments, including Polygon's fundraising in February 2022, Web3 fantasy sports platform Fast Break Labs' fundraising, and NFT platform Artifact Labs' fundraising in May 2023.

In addition, Tsai Chongxin also owns the NBA's Brooklyn Nets. Kevin Durant, who has been with the team, and Spencer Dinwiddie, who is still with the team, have both participated in investment or endorsement in the cryptocurrency industry. Coinbase (COIN) signed a promotional deal, as well as a two-year deal with Dapper Labs; Dinwiddie tokenized his employment contract and spoke at CoinDesk's Consensus conference.

Worried about China's regulatory environment?

However, whether China can fully embrace cryptocurrencies is still an open question. Hong Kong, which enjoys some autonomy as a special administrative region of China, has also proposed a set of cryptocurrency rules for permitted trading of digital assets in the region. However, critics argue that these rules are too onerous, making it difficult for most formal institutions to enter the market.

Leo Weese, co-founder and chairman of the Hong Kong Bitcoin Association, told CoinDesk: "The existing framework in Hong Kong is not attractive. The market is small and unproven, banking partners are almost non-existent, and the product is severely limited. In this regard, the banking industry is also conservative, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has even been forced to put pressure on some financial giants in order to attract cryptocurrency customers.

As for the rest of China, digital assets on the blockchain are acceptable as long as cryptocurrencies are not involved. For example, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are allowed as long as they are not speculative in nature. In 2021, Alibaba's Alipay even restricted the sale of NFTs, requiring users to hold them for 180 days before they can trade.

In summary, Beijing defines Web3 as an Internet system enhanced by artificial intelligence, blockchain, high-performance computing chips, and more powerful networks. Web3 includes cryptocurrencies, but is not limited to the encryption industry. Alibaba may have information that we don't, and hopes to have an executive team ready when China is ready to embrace the crypto industry.

This article is excerpted and rewritten from: Decrypt