Yunfeng Financial Group, a fintech firm with ties to Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma, has made a significant move towards enhancing its presence in the Web3 space by appointing Geoff Jiang Guofei as the chairman of its Web3 Development Committee. Jiang previously served as the president of Ant Digital Technology Business Group at Ant Group, where he played a pivotal role in spearheading the fintech giant’s blockchain initiatives.
According to a recent investor fact sheet on Yunfeng’s website, Jiang is among three key figures representing the company’s strong foundation in Web3 talent. Alongside him are Xiao Feng, chairman and CEO of HashKey Group, and Liang Xinjun, co-founder of Fosun International, both of whom are independent non-executive directors at Yunfeng. This assembly of leaders showcases Yunfeng’s strategic commitment to leveraging decentralized technologies to address various challenges faced by traditional financial systems.
Jiang’s journey with Ant began in 2017, and he became instrumental in launching Trusple, a blockchain-based smart contract platform aimed at facilitating cross-border trade. Prior to his recent appointment at Yunfeng, Jiang briefly transitioned to a role as chief scientist at state-owned China Electronics after leaving Ant in 2024.
Yunfeng’s recent endeavors signal an ambition to explore “frontier areas,” particularly in Web3, which the company believes could help alleviate issues like cost, efficiency, geographic limitations, and security in finance. This term broadly encompasses applications built on decentralized technologies.
In a strategic move to bolster its operations in this space, Yunfeng allocated $44 million to acquire 10,000 ether, a decision that will serve as crucial infrastructure support for its tokenized real-world asset (RWA) projects. Recently, the company announced a partnership with Ant Digital Technologies to further develop these initiatives.
In a statement, Yunfeng revealed that its blockchain team has independently completed its inaugural RWA project, tokenizing shares of a fund of funds (FOF) managed by a wholly-owned subsidiary. This fund, which focuses on alternative assets involving credit and real estate-related debt securities, aims to provide enhanced transparency to investors through tokenization of its investments.
Yunfeng has plans to utilize this initial RWA project as a springboard for exploring tokenization solutions across various asset classes. Based in Hong Kong, Yunfeng operates under the larger umbrella of its parent company, which is primarily owned by chairman Yu Feng and Alibaba’s Jack Ma.
While the firm’s main revenue source remains its insurance business, generating nearly HK$2.8 billion (approximately US$359 million) in the previous year, its ventures into fintech and Web3 have sparked notable interest from investors. Following its announcement to enter the Web3 market, Yunfeng’s stock has emerged as one of the leading performers in Hong Kong, with its share price doubling in the past month and surging 400 percent over the last six months, despite a recent dip of 5.25 percent to close at HK$5.78.
