With Kim Yong-beom, former First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, being appointed as the policy chief of the Lee Jae-myung government, expectations are rising that the virtual asset industry will gain momentum, including the issuance of won-based stablecoins. This is because he has been the representative of the virtual asset think tank Hashed Open Research after retiring from public service and has been actively raising the need for won stablecoin issuance.
According to the virtual asset industry on the 6th, with President Lee Jae-myung appointing former Vice Minister Kim as the new policy chief that day, the industry expects the government's virtual asset industry promotion to be pursued faster than anticipated. This is because Director Kim left public service as the First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance in 2021 and has been serving as the representative of Hashed Open Research, a think tank of the virtual asset investment firm Hashed, until recently.
In particular, there are expectations that the issuance of won stablecoins, which has been raised as a necessity in the industry, will gain traction. This is because Director Kim has strongly argued through seminars and his social networking service (SNS) that active measures must be taken against the expanding dominance of dollar-based stablecoins. Hashed Open Research also released a report titled "Necessity of Won Stablecoin and Legislative Proposal" in March this year.
Just ten days ago, Director Kim directly spoke out about won stablecoin issuance. At the seminar "Designing a Won Stablecoin for Digital G2" hosted by Hashed Open Research on the 28th of last month, he emphasized, "By promptly introducing an institutionalized won stablecoin and designing its structure ourselves, we can protect our monetary sovereignty" and "By designing a won stablecoin, we can become a digital G2 that exports a blockchain-based participatory economic order."
Director Kim has also repeatedly suggested through his SNS that won stablecoin issuance should be expedited. He stated, "Stablecoin is no longer an innovation in financial services, but a task of rewriting the monetary structure itself" and "Stablecoin is no longer an experiment, but a reorganization of monetary power and a national strategy in the digital age." He added, "If Korea continues to fall behind without institutionalization, there is a scenario where stablecoins issued abroad could erode the domestic customer base" and "If we do not design it now, there may come a day when we re-import digital won from overseas." He also warned, "The digital currency order has begun to move, and now only the battle remains of whether to jump in and protect it or watch and lose it."
Stablecoin is a virtual asset whose value is fixed 1:1 with legal tender like the dollar. The U.S. Congress proposed a stablecoin-related bill called the "Genius Act" in February, requiring issuers to prepare all reserves in cash, U.S. Treasury bonds, and bank demand deposits. The U.S. Tether issues the dollar stablecoin USDT. Japan has allowed it centered on banks. Hong Kong is allowing stablecoin experiments through a regulatory sandbox. However, Korea is falling behind alone in the stablecoin issuance competition, and the necessity of establishing related systems and won stablecoins is being raised in the industry and political circles.
The industry expects that President Lee's virtual asset industry promotion policy, which he announced as a campaign promise, will gain more momentum. The president promised to "make the Republic of Korea a digital asset hub," including introducing virtual asset spot ETFs and expanding token security (STO) business opportunities. An industry official said, "With Director Kim, who has a deep understanding of the virtual asset industry, joining, the overall industry promotion is expected."
- Reporter Shin Jung-seop
< Copyright ⓒ Decenter, reproduction and redistribution prohibited >
