Over the Next 5 Years, a 5,800 Trillion Won 'Great Migration of Money' Begins… Banks and Card Companies Enter a Survival War: 'Payment Revolution and Stablecoins' | Park Seong-jun, Director of the Blockchain Research Center at Dongguk University

Summary

Park Seong-jun, Director of the Blockchain Research Center at Dongguk University, argues that stablecoins are driving a large and inevitable migration of money, with the market potentially reaching KRW 5,800 trillion by 2030. He expects dollar stablecoins to beat China's CBDC model and won-based stablecoins to dominate over a Korean CBDC. The discussion covers how banks, card companies, and game companies may compete or be disrupted as tokenized payment and stablecoin FX infrastructure develop. He also highlights Korea's regulatory lag and KB Kookmin Card's hybrid payment experiment.

• Stablecoin market could reach KRW 5,800 trillion by 2030 based on USDT/USDC growth and global legalization.
• Dollar stablecoins are expected to win the digital currency war against China's CBDC approach.
• Won-based stablecoins are likely to take more share than a Bank of Korea CBDC.
• Stablecoin FX and payment systems could cut SWIFT remittance fees and automate compliance.
• Game companies are seen as advantaged entrants because they already have large, tech-friendly user bases.
• Korean card and payment incumbents face first-order disruption from token-based settlement.
• KB Kookmin Card's hybrid crypto-card payment is viewed as a promising adaptation strategy.
• Korea's slow regulatory opening is a key risk to local digital asset competitiveness.