Web3 has welcomed another heavyweight player. As a result, the cryptocurrency world seems to have gained a new “big brother.” Here, we should especially introduce Yunfeng Capital. Yunfeng Capital is a private equity firm founded in 2010. Its background makes it a darling, even among the many prominent private equity firms, born with a silver spoon in its mouth. Its management team includes Jack Ma of Alibaba and Yu Feng, founder of Juzhong Media. This is the origin of the name "Yunfeng," reflecting the company's extensive resources. In addition to these two prominent individuals, key members such as Li Ying, Huang Xin, Zhu Yikai, Huang Xiaobin, and Zhao Junbo have all served as managing directors. With a "rich dad," Yunfeng naturally has a wide array of "rich relatives." Giant Interactive Group Chairman Shi Yuzhu, New Hope Group Chairman Liu Yonghao, and Intime Investment Chairman Shen Guojun, among dozens of other entrepreneurs, have close ties to Yunfeng Financial. Against this backdrop, Yunfeng, despite its ample financial resources, has a broad reach, encompassing technology, healthcare, and consumer goods. It has also created a string of high-profile companies, including Xpeng and Horizon Robotics. Yunfeng Capital is also prominently listed as a shareholder in Banma Intelligent Driving, a star unicorn that recently launched its Hong Kong Stock Exchange listing with a valuation of 22 billion yuan. Because of this, Yunfeng Financial has consistently been labeled a "Jack Ma concept stock" in the Hong Kong stock market, with its share price fluctuations largely aligning with those of Alibaba-affiliated companies. On September 2nd, Yunfeng Financial Group announced that it had purchased 10,000 ETH (ETH) with its own funds as a strategic reserve. The company will continue to promote the strategic integration of crypto assets and digital financial innovation, exploring the inclusion of mainstream tokens such as BTC and SOL in its reserves. The group also stated that it plans to deeply integrate digital assets with its own business, exploring the potential applications of RWA tokenization and blockchain technology in core businesses such as insurance and asset management, thereby building a closed "finance + technology" ecosystem for the company. Whether driven by business transformation or simply for attention, as previously mentioned, the establishment of a treasury isn't exactly new to the market, especially given the current slump in the stock prices of many companies with treasuries. Take the Japanese listed company Metaplanet, for example. Having begun purchasing BTC in April of last year and holding a total of 20,000, Metaplanet's stock price has retreated over 50% since peaking in June of this year, highlighting the inherent fragility of the treasury narrative. In 2017, Jack Ma said, "I don't have much interest in Bitcoin. What I want to know is what Bitcoin can bring to society?" Even when the price of BTC exceeded $15,000 in December of that year, Jack Ma was frank and expressed his confusion about it. He also emphasized that he did not pay attention to Bitcoin. Later, he also stated in public that Bitcoin was a bubble. Of course, beyond his words, judging solely by his investment decisions and strategic layout, it's hard to conclude that Jack Ma is a true supporter of the cryptocurrency world. After all, in such a complex industry landscape, even founders struggle to participate in every decision, with the final say often coming from those in charge. As for this treasury, it's more accurate to say that the fund is bullish on ETH than that Jack Ma is bullish on it. Regardless, the fact that companies in which Jack Ma holds a stake are purchasing cryptocurrencies, particularly ETH, has sent some signals to the industry. To a certain extent, this entry reflects the clear and high level of institutional recognition of Ethereum, to the point that funds are willing to purchase ETH over other assets. From a technical perspective, the vast majority of domestic blockchains, led by Ant Chain, are also developing further around Ethereum, demonstrating its technical legitimacy. Even if this integration relies on resources, Ethereum's resource reach clearly demonstrates its superiority. From this perspective, the market joke that "Ethereum has a new big brother" isn't entirely groundless. After all, capital is interconnected. Starting with a circle of friends, it's easy to spawn a series of replication chains. Ant Group's actions may influence the sentiment of even more investors. Meanwhile, judging by Yunfeng Financial, the narrative of Hong Kong's local RWA appears to be gaining momentum. With continued institutional investment, the consensus on this new growth point is solidifying. Sadly, the current RWA landscape is very limited in real-world applications, and the market is a mixed bag. Projects abound under the "RWA" banner, hoping to trade air for gold, including some well-known companies. However, it must be acknowledged that less gimmickry and more sincerity are the key to the true success of new things.
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