South Korea in the last seven months has experienced an especially eventful stretch of political upheaval, including impeachments, indictments, and a short bout of martial law. In the aftermath, an early election placed into power new president Lee Jae Myung, and investors worldwide are looking for clues on what this regime change might mean for the Korean corner of the cryptosphere.
The current presidential term is still less than a month old, but Lee has been vocal about crypto and fintech for years preceding his inauguration. Recognizing that Korea can’t afford to fall behind other nations in an increasingly digital age, Lee has called for a formalized system of regulations to govern all players. Lee has also endorsed the approval of crypto spot exchange-traded funds, as well as statewide adoption of a stablecoin pegged to the Korean won.
Similar positions are held by national leaders worldwide. After all, outright hostility towards cryptoassets is no longer a seriously tenable stance. Yet there is some evidence that President Lee’s past commentary on crypto was more than banal lip service. The first is his well-documented support for universal basic income, a project that would feasibly find smoother implementation with advanced fintech and digitized payment delivery systems. The second is the nature of Korea itself: the high per capita investment habits of Koreans demand actual legitimization and stabilization of the crypto industry in order to avoid repeats of past crypto scandals.
Much will be revealed in the coming months. Will we see growth of decentralized exchanges, fueled by usage of atomic swaps? Will Korea develop a robust and enforceable legal framework for exchanges to operate by, decentralized or otherwise? If stablecoins are on the horizon, can a Central Bank Digital Currency be far behind? More generally, can crypto evolve and take root without losing the inherent magic of crypto itself? Whichever direction one’s political leanings sway, we can all hope that this industry grows responsibly under President Lee Jae Myung in the years to come
