Korea risks falling behind in digital asset adoption: Circle CSO

Circle CSO Dante Disparte speaks during a media briefing at Josun Palace hotel in Seoul, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Lee Yeon-woo

By Lee Yeon-woo

• Published Jul 23, 2026 3:56 PM KST
• Updated Jul 23, 2026 6:01 PM KST

Stablecoin issuer signs MOUs with Kakao and Toss, eyes further partnerships

Korea’s advanced banking and payments infrastructure may be masking the urgency around digital assets, even as the technology is rapidly emerging as a matter of national interest and broader national security worldwide, a Circle executive said Thursday.

While the country can afford to take a cautious approach to regulation, it should not move so slowly that it falls behind in digital asset adoption, he said.

Circle is the issuer of USDC, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar.

"The urgency, I believe, isn't widely understood nor shared (in Korea)," Circle Chief Strategy Officer Dante Disparte said at a media briefing in Seoul.

He argued that trillions of dollars are already circulating through digital asset products, and the market could expand further as blockchain technology converges with artificial intelligence and autonomous digital agents.

"That's where the urgency comes into play," Disparte said. "You could afford to be late to the regulation, but you don't necessarily want to be late to the technology (adoption)."

He made the comments ahead of Current Seoul, a private industry gathering under the theme "Korea at a Crypto Inflection." The event brought together executives from cryptocurrency exchanges, banks, payment companies and operators of so-called super apps.

Korea stands out because consumers can already experience many aspects of the future of money and payments in their daily lives, Disparte said, describing the country's banking and payments infrastructure as highly sophisticated.

But Korea's ability to capture future opportunities in digital finance will depend on regulatory progress, he said, adding that Circle is closely monitoring developments and speaking with regulators.

"Big institutions want legal clarity and regulatory clarity before they move from prototyping to production," Disparte said. "And we think that transition is in Korea's national interest."

Countries that move later on digital asset regulation, including Korea, may still gain an advantage by learning from frameworks introduced elsewhere, Disparte said. They can study what others have done, identify weaknesses in earlier approaches and apply those lessons when developing their own rules, he added.

Circle has been expanding its engagement in Korea through partnerships.

On Thursday, the company announced agreements with Toss and Kakao Pay to collaborate on blockchain-based payment infrastructure and digital asset technologies.

Both platforms are widely used by Korean consumers, making them important partners in Circle's broader effort to deepen its ties with the country's financial sector.

"Leaders from both companies have a very clear understanding that being technologically and operationally ready for the wave of Web3 is a matter of urgency," Disparte said.

The agreements build on Circle's earlier outreach to Korea's financial industry. During Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire's visit to Korea in April, the company signed agreements with financial institutions including KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank and Hana Bank, as well as cryptocurrency exchanges Upbit and Bithumb.

Disparte said Circle is also looking beyond traditional financial institutions and fintech companies to Korea's startup community. Stablecoins could help businesses significantly reduce costs related to corporate treasury operations and payments, he said.

"How do you ensure that this extraordinary country and this extraordinary economy isn’t in a digital currency firewall, where it's disconnected from the developments in the broader world?" Disparte said.

"That's where I think a lot can be done, built, ensuring that the technology that supports South Korean digital currency ambitions are able to fully interact and fully interoperate with the type of network activity that happens elsewhere on the planet. In that spirit, that's why we're here."