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. - 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 - This episode is brought to you by RealFi, a smarter stablecoin, backed by real-world assets. Find out more at realfi.co. - Ledn provides a secure and transparent way to access liquidity while maintaining your bitcoin holdings. Perfect 8 year track record of keeping clients assets safe. Don't sell your bitcoin. Get a bitcoin-backed loan. Check out your rate by using their loan calculator at ledn.io - JPEG Trading is a global proprietary trading firm specializing in cryptocurrency and decentralized finance markets. From market structure and liquidity provision to quantitative trading strategies, JPEG Trading operates across the full spectrum of blockchain-based assets. Follow @jpegtrading on X to stay ahead of the latest developments in digital asset markets: https://x.com/jpegtrading - #cryptocurrency #digitalfinance #finance #bitcoin #crypto Subscribe to CoinDesk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CoinDesk?sub_confirmation=1 CoinDesk is the leading digital media, events and information services company for the crypto asset and blockchain technology community. Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/coindesk LinkedIn: https://www.din.com/company/coindesk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coindesk Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoinDesk Newsletters: https://www.coindesk.com/newsletters CoinDesk Podcast Network: https://open.spotify.com/show/2jyIhkvAQhed8AWDZiPpSP Public Keys: https://open.spotify.com/show/1rqYzRV10nfKfoTpFXZhTE Markets Daily Crypto Roundup: https://open.spotify.com/show/7sDXM8BlxsUqzL2IqmLqwE The Policy Protocol: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Fh8ffulAWcCqMu0uVuwoj