Korea’s Largest Crypto Exchange Is Done Playing Domestic
SeonJoo Yoon, Chief Brand & Impact Officer at Upbit, joins CoinDesk’s Sam Ewen to break down why Korea is one of the most fascinating crypto markets on the planet and how Upbit, the country’s dominant exchange with 13 million KYC’d users and $1.5 trillion in cumulative trading volume, is now setting its sights far beyond its home turf.
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Timecodes:
00:00 – Upbit’s SJ Yoon Joins CoinDesk’s Spotlight
01:50 – SJ’s Early Career Path
05:35 – What Led SJ Yoon Into Web3 and Crypto
14:17 – Korean Tech Culture: Adoption, Connectivity, and Retail Trading Appetite
20:19 – Upbit’s Stablecoin Project and Why Stablecoins Matter in Korea’s Mobile-First Economy
23:58 – AI-Era payments, CBDC vs. Stablecoin Debate, and Upbit’s Layer 2 (with Optimism)
26:03 – Bridging Korean Users to Global Institutions
28:51 – GIWA Web3 Infrastructure, AI Agent Wallets, GASOK accelerator
30:29 – Upbit’s Global Expansion
32:52 – Korea’s Regulatory Landscape and the Digital Asset Act
34:42 – Upbit’s Presence at Korea Blockchain Week
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