Building the Future of Web3: Holdstation’s Strategic Insights from Korea Blockchain Week 2024

As Holdstation, a Web3 Smart Contract Wallet focused on future trading, self-custodianship, and user privacy, our mission is to bring the CeFi experience to DeFi through the Holdstation ecosystem. With a strong belief in decentralization and permissionless protocols, we are actively exploring opportunities in South Korea—one of the world’s most crypto-adoptive nations.

Korea Blockchain Week 2024 (KBW2024) provided the perfect setting to reconnect with friends and immerse ourselves in the global blockchain community. We gained valuable insights from top leaders on topics ranging from AI and prediction markets to Real World Asset (RWA) tokenization, all of which we’re eager to put into action.

1. Overview of the Crypto Industry in Korea

South Korea is emerging as a global leader in the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector. With a substantial portion of its population actively engaged in crypto trading and investments, the country is positioned at the forefront of the Web3 revolution. As of 2024, South Korea has seen a significant rise in both the volume of cryptocurrency trading and the integration of blockchain technology into various industries, from entertainment to real estate.

Key Drivers of Growth (Tiger Research, 2024)

• High Crypto Adoption: Approximately 6.45 million South Koreans (12.5% of the population) are registered on domestic exchanges. In early 2024, daily cryptocurrency trading volumes in the country surpassed those of the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), showcasing the widespread enthusiasm for digital assets.
• Real World Asset (RWA) Tokenization: Korean market participants are increasingly exploring opportunities to tokenize real-world assets like intellectual property (IP) and real estate, with projects aimed at attracting international investment. This pivot is partially driven by domestic regulatory challenges, making global markets more appealing.
• Entertainment and Gaming: The entertainment industry, particularly K-pop, has become a notable adopter of blockchain technology. The integration of Web3 in gaming has also gained traction, positioning South Korea as a hub for blockchain-based gaming innovation.
• Regulatory Landscape While South Korea has moved away from its previous ban on cryptocurrencies, it still enforces stringent regulations, especially concerning investor protection. The country’s recent introduction of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act is an effort to make the crypto space safer for users while encouraging broader adoption.

2. Key Insights from  Korea Blockchain Week 2024

The Korea Blockchain Week 2024 (KBW2024), held at the Grand Walkerhill Seoul, brought together industry leaders, experts, and over 300 speakers to discuss the latest trends, innovations, and challenges in the Web3 and blockchain ecosystem. The convergence of the digital and physical worlds was a central theme of the event, with blockchain being recognized as a key driver in bridging these two domains.

Key Discussions

• Digital and Physical World Convergence: Simon Kim, CEO of Hashed, emphasized the increasing integration of blockchain technology with real-world sectors. While essential elements like water, food, and real estate remain in the physical world, digital assets such as money, identity, and credit are transitioning to the blockchain. Kim pointed out that real estate ownership, for instance, could be tokenized into security tokens, allowing for more efficient trading and proof of ownership verification in the digital world.
• Bridging Web 2.0 and Web 3.0: Various projects were highlighted at KBW that are working to bridge the gap between the traditional internet (Web 2.0) and the decentralized Web 3.0 ecosystem. These initiatives are helping to break down barriers and expand the boundaries of blockchain’s influence.
• Entertainment Industry and Fan Engagement: Modhaus, a K-pop startup, presented how blockchain technology could enable fans to track the production of merchandise and tickets and trace who owned these items before. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)'s Web3 head, Pär Helgosson, shared how the football club leverages blockchain to engage its international fanbase, which comprises 92% of supporters outside of France. The club uses platforms like Chiliz to reward fans and create unique digital experiences, transforming traditional fan engagement into a blockchain-powered interaction.
• Legacy Businesses Embracing Web3: The hotel industry, typically a traditional sector, is also exploring the potential of Web3. Walkerhill Hotels & Resorts implemented a community-driven project where members voted on a customer experience initiative involving Harrington cars and nature programs. This is an example of how legacy businesses can use blockchain to incorporate community governance in business decisions.
• Barriers to Adoption and Technical Jargon: While blockchain adoption is growing, one of the main challenges identified at KBW 2024 is the high entry barrier for non-crypto users. A survey presented by Alison Shim, CSO of Factblock, showed that 57% of respondents were deterred by the technical jargon in the space. Shim emphasized that for Web3 to thrive, the industry must become more welcoming, user-friendly, and easier to understand for newcomers. The new Virtual Asset User Protection Act is seen as a way to help navigate crypto safely, potentially lowering these barriers.

• Solana Foundation’s Dan Albert: At KBW2024, Albert addressed decentralization concerns, emphasizing that Solana’s ability to coordinate a patch does not imply centralization. With 1,500 block-producing nodes globally, he highlighted the network's decentralized nature despite some nodes being operated by the same companies.

• Movement Labs’ Rushi Manche: Manche revealed that Movement’s Ethereum layer-2 blockchain achieved a peak of over 12,000 transactions per second (TPS) on testnet, potentially reaching 30,000 to 50,000 TPS. The high TPS is attributed to the Move programming language, which allows concurrent transaction processing. The Movement mainnet launch date is yet to be announced.

3. Vitalik Buterin on AI and Prediction Markets

During KBW 2024, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin discussed how artificial intelligence (AI) and prediction market technology could accelerate the production of Community Notes on X (formerly Twitter). Community Notes enable users to add context to potentially misleading posts, but they are often criticized for being slow to appear.

Buterin suggested that prediction markets—open platforms where users bet on specific outcomes—could help speed up the process. Platforms like Polymarket already allow users to bet on debated topics, and Buterin proposed that a similar mechanism could be applied to Community Notes. Users, aided by AI models, could bet small amounts to predict whether a post needs a community note. If correct, they would be rewarded, creating an incentive to quickly identify misleading posts and generate notes faster.

This approach could significantly improve the speed of fact-checking and content moderation, ensuring more rapid dissemination of accurate information.

4. Conclusion

Holdstation's participation in Korea Blockchain Week 2024 reinforced our belief in blockchain's transformative potential across sectors like AI, prediction markets, and RWA tokenization. As we move forward, we will continue integrating the latest technologies and insights into our ecosystem to stay at the forefront of Web3 innovation.