Crypto curious Joseph Tsai to take over as chair at Alibaba

Joseph Tsai, a crypto enthusiast and investor, will take over the reins as chair of Alibaba, the Chinese internet giant.

Alibaba Group Holding Limited announced earlier today that Tsai, who is a co-founder of the company and serves currently as executive vice chairman, will succeed Daniel Zhang as chairman.

Tsai first aired his fondness for crypto in a tweet in 2021, stating simply, “I like crypto.” He backed up his talk with an investment in FTX through his family office, Blue Pool Capital, according to a South China Morning Post report. He has reportedly made additional investments in a number of crypto startups, including participation in web3 video platform Shibuya's $6.9 million raise in December 2022.

News of Tsai’s appointment comes with many speculating that China is mulling lifting crypto restrictions, after Beijing published a whitepaper promoting web3 as an “inevitable trend” for the future. Alibaba is a giant of e-commerce in China, with a market capitalization of $236 billion.