Opening Remarks
Ethereum Korea One: Genesis · Day 1 · 2026-09-28 · 7:00 · In English
An opening conversation that kicks off Ethereum Korea One: Genesis. Youbin Kang of Nonce Classic and Adrian Li, founder of Arcas Bridge, look at how blockchain discussions among Korean institutions have changed over the past year.
Speakers
- Adrian Li, Ethereum Foundation Alumni & Founder of Arcas Bridge
- Youbin Kang, CEO, Nonce Classic
About this session
A look back at the past 12 months of the Ethereum Korea Consortium (EKC), and at how the Korean market looks from abroad. The session also covers why institutions choose Ethereum and what challenges remain for adopting public blockchains. Adrian Li spoke in a personal capacity.
Key takeaways
- EKC launched with an Ethereum Foundation grant and now has about 13 member companies, co-run by Nonce Classic and ECK. Over the past year it held two closed-door policy roundtables, on July 21 and September 8, and published a Korean edition of the Ethereum guide for governments and institutions.
- Adrian Li explained that rather than building relationships with every party in Asia one by one, the Ethereum Foundation looks for local individuals and organizations who share its values and helps them run programs and drive public blockchain adoption.
- A year ago, conversations were still trying to figure out "what is the blockchain for." Now they have moved to how to map existing systems onto the new technology and where to find concrete use cases. Adrian Li, who has 10 years in the industry, said a definite qualitative change has been visible in Korea over the past 12 months.
- Reasons institutions choose Ethereum: it is the longest-lasting smart contract chain, it is decentralized and robust, and choosing a competing technology can bring vendor lock-in and uncertainty.
- Youbin Kang noted that KRW stablecoins, STO and RWA, CBDC and deposit tokens, and digital identity are each discussed under different bills and ministries, yet technically all of them require a trusted settlement and verification layer. The question has shifted from "whether to use it" to "how to use it."
- Remaining obstacles include regulation that differs by jurisdiction and entity, and the maturity of privacy technology.
Chapters
- Opening: introducing the Ethereum Korea Consortium
- The Ethereum Foundation's approach to Asia
- The consortium's past 12 months
- A year in Korea, seen from abroad
- Why institutions choose Ethereum
- Four policy agendas and the settlement and verification layer
- Remaining challenges: regulation and privacy
- Wrap-up