- South Korean AI spending and crypto adoption rates both high, Visa says.
- Nation is an “important” market for stablecoins, credit card giant adds.
- Domestic firms unhappy with lack of regulatory progress.
The credit card company Visa said South Korea is an “optimal location” for experiments with stablecoins, blockchain-powered digital tokens backed by fiat currencies.
Oliver Jenkins, the Visa group president, and Steven Carpin, the firm’s head of Asia Pacific operations, made the comments during a visit to some of the country’s top banks, South Korean newspaper Seoul Kyungjae reported.
“South Korea has 17 million cryptocurrency investors and ranks second after the US in paid subscription rates for the generative AI platform ChatGPT,” Jenkins and Carpin told South Korean reporters. “We view it as the optimal place to experiment with stablecoins [outside the US.] We consider the South Korean market to be important.”
The comments come as the government tries to force through a much-delayed stablecoin regulation bill. The administration of President Lee Jae-myung wants to let South Korean firms issue Korean won-pegged stablecoins, but faces pushback from major financial groups and the central bank.
‘Progress is inevitable’
Visa officials said that as the AI industry continues to develop, users will need more streamlined payment options.
Stablecoins and blockchain technology will “inevitably” become important in this process, the credit card firm said.
With its thriving retail crypto market and a growing thirst for AI-powered business, South Korea could lead the charge in a future convergence of AI and stablecoin business.
Visa officials noted that South Koreans’ contribution to ChatGPT revenues made up over 5% of the platform’s total revenues, ranking second only to the United States.
South Korea also accounts for more than 11% of Google Gemini’s revenues.
But unnamed South Korean financial officials smarted at the comments, noting that while experiments are underway to tokenise stock settlements through stablecoins in other countries, such progress “remains completely blocked” in South Korea.
All forms of token issuance remain illegal on South Korean soil.
“The tokenisation of all assets and on-chain finance are inevitable trends,” an anonymous senior official in the financial sector told Seoul Kyungjae. “It is now urgent that the government puts the relevant regulations in place.”
Crypto market movers
- Bitcoin is trading for $66,968 on Sunday, up by just 0.1% over the past 24 hours.
- Ethereum prices are down by 0.2% today, with the coin currently trading at $2,044.
What we’re reading
- Clarity Act could die, expert warns, but crypto lobbyists say bill has ‘meaningful momentum’ — DL News
- Tokenised finance is a double-edged sword without proper oversight, IMF warns — DL News
- Secret codes and yuan fees get ships through Iran’s Hormuz tollbooth — Bloomberg
- We are on a scary trajectory — Milk Road
- How Ethereum’s biggest conference exposes crypto’s identity crisis — DL News
Tim Alper is a News Correspondent at DL News. Got a tip? Email him at tdalper@dlnews.com.
