ExclusiveTether executives visit Korea for high-level meetings

Figures are seen in front of the Tether logo in this illustration from February 2024. Reuters-Yonhap

Marco Dal Lago, Tether’s vice president of global expansion and strategic partnerships / Screenshot from Franklin University Switzerland's website

Just as Circle executives are currently engaged in business meetings in Korea, Tether executives are also visiting the country, according to industry sources, Thursday.

Tether, the issuer of USDT, and Circle, the issuer of USDC, rank first and second in global stablecoin market share.

Confirmed attendees from Tether so far include Marco Dal Lago, Tether’s vice president of global expansion and strategic partnerships, along with several other C-level executives.

Sources said that some of these executives are already in Korea and have started holding meetings.

“The team is small, and the schedule keeps changing,” one source said.

With Korea ramping up its efforts to shape a domestic stablecoin environment, a wave of high-profile executive visits is underway. However, the nature of the engagements appears to differ.

"While Circle is working to build a global payment network that could replace the SWIFT system, Tether is more like a platform startup offering the core technology and ecosystem for stablecoins," said Daniel Kim, CEO of Tiger Research.

"Tether appears to be in the early stages of establishing its brand in Korea and seems to be conducting meetings focused on market research and building general partnerships," Kim added.

Tether recently hired a Korean employee and is potentially exploring deeper engagement with Korean companies and political parties. The new hire, described as an “expansion manager,” is expected to focus on strengthening strategic partnerships as the company looks to enter the Korean market.

A Tether spokesperson declined to comment on both the attendees and their visit schedule. Several companies believed to be involved in meetings with Tether also declined to comment due to non-disclosure agreements.

Starting Thursday, Circle President Heath Tarbert began a series of meetings with Korea's four major banks: KB, Shinhan, Hana and Woori. They also have meetings with the country’s top three crypto exchanges of Upbit, Bithumb and Coinone and Web3 venture capital firm Hashed.

Tarbert is also scheduled to meet with Korean payment-related companies and startups, including Kakao, which has expressed strong interest in stablecoins. Meetings with Korean lawmakers including Rep. Min Byoung-dug of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, who proposed the Digital Asset Basic Act, are also expected.

“Given Korea’s heavy reliance on international trade, the potential market for trade settlement using stablecoins could be significant. So global stablecoin firms likely have a market research aspect aimed at getting ahead of that demand,” said KP Jang, head of Xangle Research.

“It’s also expected that Korean corporations and institutions holding U.S. dollars may increasingly consider holding a portion in stablecoins — another area they may be exploring for early positioning,” he added.