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KBW Recap 🇰🇷 A few observations from this year's Korea Blockchain Week after speaking with institutions, VCs, project founders, and whales. 🇰🇷 1. The Decline of Korea's Crypto Market The two biggest reasons global crypto projects come to Korea are its active retail investors and the opportunity to get listed on Upbit and Bithumb. Korea has long been one of the most influential retail-driven crypto markets, with many global projects allocating significant marketing budgets to build Korean communities. But this year felt very different. Government regulations, restrictions, and uncertainty surrounding crypto taxation have been putting pressure on Korea's retail market. 2025: Upbit daily volume : $1B for a single token / $15B total 2026: Upbit total daily volume : $800M The difference was also noticeable at KBW. 2025: ~30,000 attendees / ~400 side events 2026: ~12,000 attendees / ~190 side events Based on these figures, both attendance and side events declined by more than 50% year over year. Entering the Korean market requires significant investment from global projects. If retail liquidity continues to decline, there will be fewer reasons for them to allocate resources to Korea. I believe this could create a vicious cycle, where declining interest from global projects leads to weaker local communities and a shrinking domestic crypto ecosystem. 🏦 2. Retail Is Slowing Down, but Institutional Interest Is Growing One of the most noticeable changes at this year's KBW was the increased participation of Korean securities firms and traditional financial institutions. In the past, KBW was largely dominated by crypto-native projects, VCs, and KOLs. Now, traditional financial institutions are actively participating and exploring how blockchain can be integrated into their existing financial businesses. RWA, stablecoins, and digital asset custody were among the areas attracting the most attention. KakaoBank: Exploring KRW stablecoins for payments and remittances GiwaChain: L2 blockchain infrastructure for financial institutions and enterprises Meritz Securities: Exploring digital asset financial infrastructure, tokenized securities, and custody opportunities Mirae Asset: Tokenization of financial products such as MMFs and on-chain asset management I believe Korea's next phase of crypto growth could increasingly come from institutional financial infrastructure rather than retail trading alone. 📈 3. PerpDEX Hosted Some of the Most Popular Side Events During KBW = ReboundX ( par_D & Magon 🎒 ) & Frontier Traders Compared with Western markets, PerpDEX was one of the most prominent sectors at KBW side events this year. It seemed to be gaining particularly strong traction in Korea and across Asia, where trading-focused crypto communities are highly active. According to CoinGecko, PerpDEX's share of total perpetual futures trading volume grew from around 2% in early 2024 to approximately 10% in January 2026. Trading competitions are increasingly becoming like esports events, with spectators getting just as excited as the traders themselves. Korean exchanges don't offer leveraged futures trading, while PerpDEX platforms are expanding into traditional assets such as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, oil, and the Nasdaq. As a result, retail traders are becoming more active on global PerpDEX platforms than on Upbit or Bithumb. On top of that, demand for non-KYC trading and self-custody is also growing. 🤖 4. One Project That Stood Out: 0G Labs One of the projects that left a strong impression on me at this year's KBW was 0G Labs. Even after its TGE and listings on Korean exchanges, 0G Labs continued to show its commitment to the Korean market by participating as a major conference sponsor. Hashed founder Simon Kim has shared a similar perspective, and 0g labs CEO Michael Heinrich (Ø,G) also shares this vision of an "Agentic Economy." Until now, blockchains have largely been designed around humans holding assets and making transactions. But in the future, we could see an economy where AI agents independently purchase data, use services provided by other AI agents, and pay for them using stablecoins. Perhaps blockchain was originally built for humans, but its most active users may eventually be AI agents. If AI agents begin transacting and interacting with each other at scale, they will need payment systems, data infrastructure, and computing resources to support that economy. I thought this was an interesting perspective on how two of the market's biggest narratives, AI and stablecoins, could eventually come together.

KBW Recap 🇰🇷 A few observations from this year's Korea Blockchain Week after speaking with institutions, VCs, project founders, and whales. 🇰🇷 1. The Decline of Korea's Crypto Market The two biggest reasons global crypto projects come to Korea are its active retail investors and the opportunity to get listed on Upbit and Bithumb. Korea has long been one of the most influential retail-driven crypto markets, with many global projects allocating significant marketing budgets to build Korean communities. But this year felt very different. Government regulations, restrictions, and uncertainty surrounding crypto taxation have been putting pressure on Korea's retail market. 2025: Upbit daily volume : $1B for a single token / $15B total 2026: Upbit total daily volume : $800M The difference was also noticeable at KBW. 2025: ~30,000 attendees / ~400 side events 2026: ~12,000 attendees / ~190 side events Based on these figures, both attendance and side events declined by more than 50% year over year. Entering the Korean market requires significant investment from global projects. If retail liquidity continues to decline, there will be fewer reasons for them to allocate resources to Korea. I believe this could create a vicious cycle, where declining interest from global projects leads to weaker local communities and a shrinking domestic crypto ecosystem. 🏦 2. Retail Is Slowing Down, but Institutional Interest Is Growing One of the most noticeable changes at this year's KBW was the increased participation of Korean securities firms and traditional financial institutions. In the past, KBW was largely dominated by crypto-native projects, VCs, and KOLs. Now, traditional financial institutions are actively participating and exploring how blockchain can be integrated into their existing financial businesses. RWA, stablecoins, and digital asset custody were among the areas attracting the most attention. KakaoBank: Exploring KRW stablecoins for payments and remittances GiwaChain: L2 blockchain infrastructure for financial institutions and enterprises Meritz Securities: Exploring digital asset financial infrastructure, tokenized securities, and custody opportunities Mirae Asset: Tokenization of financial products such as MMFs and on-chain asset management I believe Korea's next phase of crypto growth could increasingly come from institutional financial infrastructure rather than retail trading alone. 📈 3. PerpDEX Hosted Some of the Most Popular Side Events During KBW = ReboundX ( par_D & Magon 🎒 ) & Frontier Traders Compared with Western markets, PerpDEX was one of the most prominent sectors at KBW side events this year. It seemed to be gaining particularly strong traction in Korea and across Asia, where trading-focused crypto communities are highly active. According to CoinGecko, PerpDEX's share of total perpetual futures trading volume grew from around 2% in early 2024 to approximately 10% in January 2026. Trading competitions are increasingly becoming like esports events, with spectators getting just as excited as the traders themselves. Korean exchanges don't offer leveraged futures trading, while PerpDEX platforms are expanding into traditional assets such as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, oil, and the Nasdaq. As a result, retail traders are becoming more active on global PerpDEX platforms than on Upbit or Bithumb. On top of that, demand for non-KYC trading and self-custody is also growing. 🤖 4. One Project That Stood Out: 0G Labs One of the projects that left a strong impression on me at this year's KBW was 0G Labs. Even after its TGE and listings on Korean exchanges, 0G Labs continued to show its commitment to the Korean market by participating as a major conference sponsor. Hashed founder Simon Kim has shared a similar perspective, and 0g labs CEO Michael Heinrich (Ø,G) also shares this vision of an "Agentic Economy." Until now, blockchains have largely been designed around humans holding assets and making transactions. But in the future, we could see an economy where AI agents independently purchase data, use services provided by other AI agents, and pay for them using stablecoins. Perhaps blockchain was originally built for humans, but its most active users may eventually be AI agents. If AI agents begin transacting and interacting with each other at scale, they will need payment systems, data infrastructure, and computing resources to support that economy. I thought this was an interesting perspective on how two of the market's biggest narratives, AI and stablecoins, could eventually come together.

20,028 görüntüleme

The Chinese Faker Galio #0001/2025 has already surpassed $165K in bids in less than a day. Now I understand why everyone is trying to buy the Korean T1 Signature Edition. I can’t even imagine what the Korean #0001 would be worth. Even non-#0001 serials are selling for thousands to tens of thousands on eBay.

The Chinese Faker Galio #0001/2025 has already surpassed $165K in bids in less than a day. Now I understand why everyone is trying to buy the Korean T1 Signature Edition. I can’t even imagine what the Korean #0001 would be worth. Even non-#0001 serials are selling for thousands to tens of thousands on eBay.

18,948 görüntüleme

Before crypto After crypto Ladies, don’t trade crypto. 😭

Before crypto After crypto Ladies, don’t trade crypto. 😭

26,600 görüntüleme

Happy 4th Anniversary, Searchfi . 🎉 Our memories, our challenges, our growth. We've met incredible people and created moments that will stay with us for a lifetime. The market has changed countless times, but the people we've met and the memories we've shared remain with us. Thank you for being part of this journey over the past four years. ❤️

Happy 4th Anniversary, Searchfi . 🎉 Our memories, our challenges, our growth. We've met incredible people and created moments that will stay with us for a lifetime. The market has changed countless times, but the people we've met and the memories we've shared remain with us. Thank you for being part of this journey over the past four years. ❤️

27,724 görüntüleme

Fridge : alpha $ASTER Me : ???? Fridge : taking my phone , bought $ASTER not my finger.. CZ 🔶 BNB i did good, right? Fxxk Tank

Fridge : alpha $ASTER Me : ???? Fridge : taking my phone , bought $ASTER not my finger.. CZ 🔶 BNB i did good, right? Fxxk Tank

27,751 görüntüleme

surgery just ended. First thing I asked for? My phone. Turned it on and instantly opened Axie: Den of Mysteries My wife keeps telling me to stop gaming and rest… but she doesn’t understand. The Classic Skin Box event started today. I NEED the new skin. 💀 skarly

surgery just ended. First thing I asked for? My phone. Turned it on and instantly opened Axie: Den of Mysteries My wife keeps telling me to stop gaming and rest… but she doesn’t understand. The Classic Skin Box event started today. I NEED the new skin. 💀 skarly

15,361 görüntüleme

Hey you gaming addicts, stop already This is a year-end party, not a guild war 😭 This is all Fableborne and Jihoz.ron fault. It’s the SearchFi year-end party. Phones OFF for a moment 📵

Hey you gaming addicts, stop already This is a year-end party, not a guild war 😭 This is all Fableborne and Jihoz.ron fault. It’s the SearchFi year-end party. Phones OFF for a moment 📵

20,635 görüntüleme

Manchester United Legend Player Patrice Evra & ji-sung park openthefridge ❄️ cooking something.... #WLTG

Manchester United Legend Player Patrice Evra & ji-sung park openthefridge ❄️ cooking something.... #WLTG

12,895 görüntüleme

Health is wealth Guess the weight??

Health is wealth Guess the weight??

15,963 görüntüleme

$50K in $TAKE. BUY THE DIP. Fortune favors the brave. #NFA * I swear this is not a project request or sponsorship

$50K in $TAKE. BUY THE DIP. Fortune favors the brave. #NFA * I swear this is not a project request or sponsorship

15,003 görüntüleme

We are proud to announce our partnership with Yogapetz . Yoga Petz is a project established with the aim that people living in the crypto world should also relax their mind and body through yoga. Searchfi will build up the healthcare sector that YGPZ will carry out in the future, and will actively help each other grow their communities. Searchfi will also serve as YGPZ's Korean base and lead many people to the Yoga Petz ecosystem. It's good to work on Web3, but why don't you create a healthy and balanced lifestyle with YGPZ?

We are proud to announce our partnership with Yogapetz . Yoga Petz is a project established with the aim that people living in the crypto world should also relax their mind and body through yoga. Searchfi will build up the healthcare sector that YGPZ will carry out in the future, and will actively help each other grow their communities. Searchfi will also serve as YGPZ's Korean base and lead many people to the Yoga Petz ecosystem. It's good to work on Web3, but why don't you create a healthy and balanced lifestyle with YGPZ?

15,232 görüntüleme

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