Alibaba Co-founder Joe Tsai: ‘I Like Crypto’

Alibaba has a considerable portfolio of blockchain infrastructure patents, but this isn’t the same as supporting cryptocurrency

share

key takeaways

  • Joe Tsai, co-founder and vice chairman at Alibaba, has often been called Jack Ma’s right hand man
  • Given the regulatory environment surrounding digital assets in China, it’s unlikely that Alibaba will get involved in crypto in any meaningful way

Authorities in China have done all they can to make buying digital assets as difficult as possible for those in-country. But Alibaba’s co-founder and executive vice chairman Joe Tsai says he likes crypto. 

Loading Tweet..

What might be a mundane remark in the circles of crypto Twitter is interesting coming from a man of Tsai’s stature.

Alibaba is China’s e-commerce giant and Tsai is often described as Jack Ma’s right-hand man.

When asked by commentators on Twitter to elaborate on his comment, he didn’t reply.

For example, James Lloyd, a Citi executive based in Hong Kong, asked if Tsai had posted the same thing on Weibo, a China-based social networking platform that is tightly controlled by Beijing.

It’s unlikely that Alibaba will make any inroads into the cryptocurrency industry, even offshore. In November Blockworks reported that three of China’s major tech giants, including Alibaba, signed a self-regulatory pledge to keep their growing NFT marketplaces away from cryptocurrencies.

Part of that pledge included promises that they would work together with authorities in “preventing money laundering, promising dissociation with virtual currency, upholding consumers rights, and promoting national culture.”

Anti-crypto but pro-blockchain

Despite its anti-crypto institutional stance, Alibaba is a big proponent of blockchain technology.

As Beijing has identified blockchain as a strategic technology, Alibaba has spent considerable sums on R&D for blockchain infrastructure. Alibaba’s fintech subsidiary Ant Group has filed for 7,000 blockchain-related patents and has been awarded 631 as of August 2021.

Although Alibaba needs to steer clear of crypto, Tsai, as a private investor, has some indirect exposure. Kevin Durant, a superstar player on the Brooklyn Nets, which Tsai owns, has a stake in Coinbase. Durant bought equity in 2017 through his venture fund Thirty-Five Ventures. As part of the investment deal, he acts as an ambassador for the team and is one of the faces of the Coinbase brand.

Tsai is said to be worth nearly $10 billion, according to a profile in the “Financial Post.” While he holds a Canadian passport, it’s unclear if he’s ever lived in Canada or if the passport is merely an insurance policy should he run afoul of Chinese authorities, as Jack Ma did in early 2021.


Get the day’s top crypto news and insights delivered to your inbox every evening. Subscribe to Blockworks’ free newsletter now.


Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) represent low-hanging fruit in a massive market ripe for Web3-driven disruption. The global CDN market was valued at ~$28B in 2024, and is projected to surpass $140B by 2034, (18.75% CAGR) underscoring the immense demand for efficient content delivery.

article-image

Sponsored

With early interest from an initial cohort of brands including Metaplex, Story Protocol, and Pipe Network, Shelby offers decentralized, cloud-speed storage for streaming, AI, and real-time content

article-image

The $135 million raise shows that TradFi giants are serious about crypto adoption

article-image

The banking system still processes payments like it’s 1975. Crypto might have a fix.

article-image

Fiserv’s launch follows Senate passage of the GENIUS Act for stablecoin regulation.

article-image

Bitcoin is emerging as “the new standard for long-term corporate resilience,” Swan Bitcoin CIO says

article-image

Cybersecurity experts explain how the attack could have been prevented