"In the legislative debate on the Basic Act on Digital Assets, it is disappointing to see more attention paid to banks and big tech (large IT corporations) than to specialized corporations that have invested enormous time and expense. Without being discouraged, we will build the capabilities to compete with them and prove Bidax's vision."
Ryu Hong-yeol, Bidax CEO, said this regarding the government's move to grant bank-led consortia the qualification to issue stablecoins (virtual assets whose prices are linked to legal tender or real assets) through the Basic Act on Digital Assets. Bidax is a digital asset custody corporations for corporations. Last year, it officially issued the won-based stablecoin "KRW1."
Ryu said about the National Assembly's move to limit the issuer of won-based stablecoins to banks, "Legislation is a balance between innovation and stability. Because stablecoins are connected to currency, payments, and foreign exchange, their public nature is significant, so it is not surprising to see a trend in system design that emphasizes the role of banks," but added, "With only banks, it is difficult for the industry to grow quickly and flexibly."
KRW1, developed by Bidax, is a 100% collateralized won stablecoin. It maintains a 1:1 reserve against the won, and the issued tokens are fully collateralized by won asset deposited at major domestic commercial banks. The following is a Q&A with CEO Ryu.
─ What led you to start a digital asset business after serving as a partner attorney at a law firm?
"While working at a law firm and closely observing changes across industries and system design, I concluded that digital assets and Blockchain are not a temporary fad but a trend that can transform financial infrastructure. Based on my understanding of laws and regulations, I wanted to build essential infrastructure as the market enters the institutional framework. I decided to start a company because I judged that custody is the area that can most fundamentally solve that problem."
─ How would you explain the concept of digital asset custody in simple terms?
"Custody can be seen as the bank for digital assets. Just as you entrust cash or valuables to a safe place, it securely stores and manages digital assets. It also manages who can access them, what procedures are followed to move them, and how controls are implemented to prevent incidents."
─ You have established partnerships with various corporations at home and abroad. What blueprint do you have?
"A partnership is the result of verifying whether "this company can actually work with us." From the start, Bidax focused on building security, compliance management, and operational stability with the institutional market in mind. Global corporations need a trusted partner in Korea, and domestic financial institutions need corporations that can connect to global networks and technology. That is the background for Bidax forming strategic partnerships with domestic and overseas corporations such as Woori Bank, Galaxy Digital, Circle, and Ripple by creating that point of contact.
Bidax aims to expand beyond simple custody into a comprehensive digital asset infrastructure for corporate and institutional investors. The blueprint for this can be presented in three phases. First is secure custody; second is trading, storage, and management infrastructure that institutions can actually use; third is real-use financial services such as payments, tokenization, and cross-border fund transfers. These three pillars must be connected for digital assets to move from "investment targets" to "financial infrastructure.""
─ How do you view the trend of the financial sector entering the infrastructure race along with recent discussions to institutionalize won stablecoins?
"It is a natural trend. Stablecoins are not simply about who issues a single coin; they are an infrastructure competition that includes storage, reserve asset management, settlement, distribution, auditing, and compliance management. Going forward, rather than simple first-mover competition, what will matter is who builds a more stable and regulation-friendly structure. In this process, Bidax sees as realistic a model in which banks, custody operators, Blockchain infrastructure corporations, and payment operators divide roles and cooperate."
─ The National Assembly and the government are trying to grant bank-led consortia the qualification to issue stablecoins.
"We believe it is difficult for the ecosystem to grow quickly and flexibly with only banks. While banks can reinforce trust in issuance, considering ▲ technology implementation ▲ custody ▲ distribution ▲ on-chain linkage ▲ expansion of overseas networks, a structure in which specialized infrastructure corporations participate together is more desirable. While recognizing bank-centered stability, we think an open consortium in which custody, technology corporations, and platform operators share roles is suitable as a Korea-style model."
─ What are Bidax's future vision and goals?
"Bidax's goal is to start in Korea and grow into a digital asset financial infrastructure corporations for institutions representing the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. As the digital asset market enters the institutional framework, the market will require higher levels of trust, security, regulatory compliance, and global connectivity. Bidax aims to be the company that builds precisely that foundation.
Ultimately, the goal is to set the standard that "digital assets can be used with confidence, just like traditional finance." We want to build infrastructure that goes beyond custody to include payments, tokenization, institutional management, and global network connections, and help Korea become a leading country in the digital financial transition rather than a demand country."