The appointment of a new chair could change Alibaba's stance on crypto innovation.
In the wake of Daniel Zhang's resignation, the Chinese technology behemoth Alibaba has appointed Joe Tsai, a well-known supporter of cryptocurrencies, as the company's chair.
Alibaba confirmed Zhang's departure in a public statement issued on June 20th.
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Zhang will be losing his role as chair and CEO of the company on September 10th. However, the man will continue to maintain his position as the chair and CEO of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group.
Tsai, who has shown considerable support for cryptocurrencies through his wealth management company, Blue Pool Capital, will be taking over the reins.
Blue Pool Capital has been the driving force behind several investments in cryptocurrency enterprises. These investments include FTX, the $450 million funding round of Polygon in February, and Web3 enterprise Artifact Labs.
In the wake of Zhang's departure, Eddie Yongming Wu, currently serving as the chair of Taobao and Tmall Group, will step up as the CEO of Alibaba and fill Zhang's place on the board of directors.
Tsai voiced his excitement about working with Wu, stating:
I look forward to working with Eddie to spark our next phase of growth through technology and innovation.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) seem to occupy an ambiguous regulatory space within China. Alibaba had previously launched an NFT marketplace for copyright trading in 2021. They also introduced an NFT solution under their cloud business division, which was mysteriously removed shortly after its release.
Joe Tsai's appointment as the new chair of Alibaba, given his pro-cryptocurrency stance, could herald a significant shift in the company's engagement with the crypto industry and potentially influence China's intricate relationship with the sector.
In other news, Standard Chartered and PwC China have joined forces to develop a comprehensive white paper exploring the potential of central bank digital currency (CBDC) in China's Greater Bay Area (GBA).
