Tether (USDT), the world's largest stablecoin issuer, is speeding up its push into the Korean market. In the virtual asset industry, as Tether moves to secure trademarks in Korea that include its company name and logo, some are raising the possibility that it could establish a Korea branch in the future.
On the 19th, according to the virtual asset industry, Tether recently filed a total of seven trademarks in Korea, including the "tether" logo and the gold-backed stablecoin "Tether Gold (XAUT)." Until now, Tether had focused on filing trademarks in Korea centered on stablecoin product names.
Some in the industry say the move to secure a domestic business foothold suggests preliminary work for entry into the Korean market has begun. As the Digital Asset Basic Act (phase two of virtual asset laws) is strongly considering requiring overseas stablecoin issuers to establish a domestic branch to conduct distribution business in Korea, the analysis is that Tether has taken preemptive action ahead of global stablecoin issuer Circle.
Jeremy Allaire, founder and chief executive officer (CEO), visited Korea in April and met with domestic financial holding companies and virtual asset exchanges to discuss potential cooperation. At the time, Allaire said, "Korea is the most dynamic virtual asset market in the world and a leading candidate to become the most mature stablecoin market going forward."