BLOCKFESTA 2026
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Onchain Finance

FROM ENTRY TO EXECUTION
Institutions Go On-Chain
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October 1 (THU), 2026 · 10:00~17:00 · IFC The Forum, Yeouido · Powered by Blockmedia

BLOCKFESTA

BLOCKFESTA is one of Korea's longest-running blockchain and digital-asset events, held around Korea Blockchain Week for eight consecutive years. It convenes financial institutions, fintech and digital-asset firms, investors, policymakers, and leading global projects backed by Blockmedia's network across Korea and partners.

8th
Consecutive year
170+
Speakers
100+
Partners of former events
National Assembly
Legislative participation

Attending organisations

28%
Financial institutions & banks
26%
Fintech & digital-asset firms
20%
Investors & funds
14%
Policymakers & regulators
12%
Global blockchain projects

Onchain Finance

From Entry to Execution: Institutions Go On-Chain

Institutions are no longer just exploring blockchain.
2026 is the inflection point where digital finance moves from pilots to real execution.

BLOCKFESTA 2026 brings together the institutions and projects turning this from entry to execution.

BLOCKFESTA 2026

Min Byung-duk
National Assembly Member
Sam Seo
Chairman
Kaia DLT Foundation
Uno Lee
CEO
Kaia Investment Partners
Kim Se-hee
Senior Research Analyst
Eugene Investment & Securities
Leo Wong
Head of APAC
Access Protocol
Arthur Hayes
CIO
Maelstrom
CEO
Flop Labs
Steve Chung
CEO
The Block
John D'Agostino
Head of Strategy
Coinbase Institutional
Jong-wan Kim
Team Leader
Digital Asset Team, Mirae Asset Securities
Sam Sim
Head
Digital Assets, Strategic Planning Team, Meritz Securities
Byung-hwa Lim
Professor
Sungkyunkwan University
Je-seok Hong
Senior Associate
Digital Asset Department, Shinhan Securities
Paul Kim
Chairman
New Frontier Partners (Fypher)
Thomas Chen
Chief Business Officer
BNB Chain
Sang-hyun Sung
Executive Director
ABP Asset Management
Kwangho An
Researcher
Tiger Research
Leo Li
Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer
AEON Protocol
Frederick Tan
Associate Director of Revenue
The Block
Allan Monteiro
Director of Business Development, APAC & Middle East
Parfin / Rayls

Program Schedule

Thursday, October 1, 2026 · 10:00–17:00

  1. 10:00–10:05 5 min
    OPENING
  2. 10:05–10:15 10 min
    REMARKS
    Member of the National Assembly
SESSION 1

Reshaping Finance: Breaking Asset Boundaries, Unlocking New Opportunities

  1. 10:15–10:30 15 min
    TALK

    Money printer go Brrrr, What do you buy?

    Arthur Hayes CIO · Maelstrom / CEO · Flop Labs
  2. 10:30–10:50 20 min
    TALK

    From K-Perps to Tokenization: Taking Korean Equities Global

    Kim Se-hee Senior Research Analyst · Eugene Investment & Securities
  3. 10:50–11:30 40 min
    PANEL DISCUSSION

    Dollar Liquidity, Won Assets: The Won Stablecoin Advantage

    Kim Se-hee Senior Research Analyst · Eugene Investment & Securities
    Jong-wan Kim Team Leader · Digital Asset Team, Mirae Asset Securities
    Paul Kim Chairman · New Frontier Partners (Fypher)
  4. 11:30–11:50 20 min
    TALK

    The Securities Industry’s Place in Tokenized Markets

    Je-seok Hong Senior Associate · Digital Asset Department, Shinhan Securities
  5. 11:50–12:10 20 min
    TALK

    The Stablecoin Revolution: A New Era of Money

    Sang-hyun Sung Executive Director · ABP Asset Management
  6. 12:10–12:55 45 min
    LUNCH BREAK
SESSION 2

Asia’s Onchain Finance: Infrastructure Race Begins

  1. 12:55–13:25 30 min
    KEYNOTE

    Asia’s Onchain Finance: Infrastructure Race Begins

    Sam Seo Chairman · Kaia DLT Foundation
  2. 13:25–13:40 15 min
    TALK

    Global Crypto Competitiveness: Country Ranking Report

    Steve Chung CEO · The Block
  3. 13:40–14:00 20 min
    TALK

    Tokenizing Bonds and Equities What a Securities Firm Has to Build Before Institutions Allocate

    Sam Sim Head · Digital Assets, Strategic Planning Team, Meritz Securities
  4. 14:00–14:35 35 min
    PANEL DISCUSSION

    From Stablecoins to Real-World Returns: Assets and Liquidity in Asia’s Onchain Markets

    Uno Lee CEO · Kaia Investment Partners
    Byung-hwa Lim Professor · Sungkyunkwan University
  5. 14:35–15:00 25 min
    TALK

    The Settlement Layer for Agentic Economy

    Leo Li Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer · AEON Protocol
  6. 15:00–15:20 20 min
    FIRESIDE CHAT

    The Last Mile of Tokenized Assets: Making Onchain Markets Work for Global Users

    Thomas Chen Chief Business Officer · BNB Chain
    Frederick Tan Associate Director of Revenue · The Block
  7. 15:20–15:40 20 min
    FIRESIDE CHAT

    Institutional Adoption of Digital Assets: What’s Next for Korean Finance?

    John D'Agostino Head of Strategy · Coinbase Institutional
    Tony Chung Head of BD · Blockmedia
  8. 15:40–16:30 50 min
    FIRESIDE CHAT

    From Access to Capital: How Tokenization Is Building a New Economy

    Allan Monteiro Director of Business Development, APAC & Middle East · Parfin / Rayls
    Leo Wong Head of APAC · Access Protocol
    Kwangho An Researcher · Tiger Research
    Tony Chung Head of BD · Blockmedia
  9. 16:30–16:50 20 min
    FIRESIDE CHAT

    From TradFi to Onchain: The Institutional Shift

    Kelvin Koh Co-Founder & Partner · Spartan Group
    Ryan Kim Co-Founder & Partner · Hashed
  10. 16:50–17:00 10 min
    CLOSING

Partners of BLOCKFESTA

Korea's best institutional Web3 conference.

Title
Kaia
Diamond
Dunamu
Gold
Coinone
Hashed
Rayls
AEON Protocol
Silver
Bithumb
Access Protocol
Fypher
RN2 Technologies
Binance
Tiger Research
Partners
KB Financial Group
BPMG
Nexus
Eugene Investment & Securities
Mirae Asset Securities
더불어민주당
국민의힘
Meritz Securities
Shinhan Securities
Spartan Group
ABP Asset Management
Sungkyunkwan University
BNB Chain
Coinbase
Lil Room
Media Partner
The Block

Former Speakers of BLOCKFESTA

Byung-Duk Min
Democratic Party · Congressman
Arthur Hayes
Maelstrom · CIO
Yong-Beom Park
Korea Blockchain Association · President
Justin Kim
Avalanche · Head of Asia
Muneeb Ali
Stacks · Founder
Jae-Sub Kim
People Power Party · Congressman
Dongki Lee
Deloitte · Partner
Gap-Rae Kim
VerifyVASP · Head of Capital Markets
Kyungup Kim
OPEN(ASSET) · Founder
Ik-Hyun Kim
Yulchon · Partner Lawyer
Sirgoo Lee
Upbit · Former CEO
Anatoly Yakovenko
Solana · Founder
Jae-Jin Kim
DAXA · Vice President
Yong-Beom Kim
Presidential Office · Chief Presidential Secretary for Policy
Chi Zhang
Kite AI · Founder
Young-Sun Park
Government of Korea · Former Minister of SMEs and Startups
Yong-Jae Lee
Mirae Asset · Head of Digital Assets
Yoo-Seok Seo
Korea Financial Investment Association · Former President
Ryeon-Ho Kang
Shin & Kim · Partner Lawyer
Sung-Hwan Joo
Lee & Ko · Lawyer
Byung-Duk Min
Democratic Party · Congressman
Anatoly Yakovenko
Solana · Founder
Justin Kim
Avalanche · Head of Asia
Chi Zhang
Kite AI · Founder
Dongki Lee
Deloitte · Partner
Yoo-Seok Seo
Korea Financial Investment Association · Former President
Ik-Hyun Kim
Yulchon · Partner Lawyer
Sirgoo Lee
Upbit · Former CEO
Yong-Beom Park
Korea Blockchain Association · President
Yong-Beom Kim
Presidential Office · Chief Presidential Secretary for Policy
Jae-Sub Kim
People Power Party · Congressman
Yong-Jae Lee
Mirae Asset · Head of Digital Assets
Kyungup Kim
OPEN(ASSET) · Founder
Sung-Hwan Joo
Lee & Ko · Lawyer
Arthur Hayes
Maelstrom · CIO
Jae-Jin Kim
DAXA · Vice President
Muneeb Ali
Stacks · Founder
Young-Sun Park
Government of Korea · Former Minister of SMEs and Startups
Gap-Rae Kim
VerifyVASP · Head of Capital Markets
Ryeon-Ho Kang
Shin & Kim · Partner Lawyer

Previous partners

Register to attend

Registration is closed

The Forum

The Forum, International Finance Centre Seoul (IFC), Yeouido

BLOCKFESTA is held at a premium venue in Yeouido, the heart of Korean finance.

The Forum, International Finance Centre Seoul (IFC), Yeouido
Address 10, Gukjegeumyung-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea, Two IFC, 3F
Open in Naver maps Open in Google maps

Onchain Finance

October 1 (Thu), 2026 · 10:00~17:00 · IFC The Forum, Yeouido
Register Contact
Min Byung-duk
National Assembly Member
Profile

Min Byung-duk is a Member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea with the Democratic Party of Korea. He is engaged in discussions on financial policy, digital-asset regulation, and the development of a trusted market framework.
Sam Seo
Chairman
Kaia DLT Foundation
Profile

Sam Seo is Chairman of the Kaia DLT Foundation. He holds a Ph.D. in parallel computing and conducted exascale systems research at Argonne National Laboratory before leading the development of on-device AI inference frameworks and neural network compilers at Samsung Electronics. He designed and built the public blockchain Klaytn at Ground X in 2018, later serving as CTO, CPO, and CEO of the Klaytn Foundation; he now leads Kaia, formed through the 2024 merger of Klaytn and Finschia.
Uno Lee
CEO
Kaia Investment Partners
Profile

Uno Lee is the CEO of Kaia Investment Partners (KIP) and Chief Business Development Officer of the Kaia DLT Foundation. He began his career as an analyst at Samsung Securities, followed by roles at Lindeman Asia Investment and Huobi Korea, and has led business development for major Korean public blockchain platforms—including Ground X, Klaytn’s parent company Krust, and the Klaytn Foundation—since 2019. At KIP, he manages Yield8, an on-chain private credit fund focused on Asia, as well as a stablecoin infrastructure venture fund, with a focus on bringing institutional capital on-chain.
Kim Se-hee
Senior Research Analyst
Eugene Investment & Securities
Profile

Kim Se-hee is a Senior Research Analyst in Digital Assets & Fintech at Eugene Investment & Securities, covering digital asset markets and blockchain-based finance and fintech. Previously, she served as a Strategy Manager at blockchain infrastructure company DSRV, where she worked on industry strategy and business development.
Leo Wong
Head of APAC
Access Protocol
Profile

Leo Wong leads Asia-Pacific operations at Access Protocol. He focuses on growing regional adoption of token-based access models for content, creators, and communities.
Arthur Hayes
CIO
Maelstrom
CEO
Flop Labs
Profile

Arthur Hayes is the Chief Investment Officer of Maelstrom, where he leads investment strategy at the intersection of digital assets and macroeconomics. He recently became CEO of Flop Labs, where he is building computing and settlement infrastructure for AI agents, and is widely known for his views on crypto market structure and global liquidity.
Steve Chung
CEO
The Block
Profile

Steve Chung is CEO of The Block, a news, research, and data platform for digital assets and blockchain. He previously served as Chief Growth Officer at FOX Corporation and CEO of the Americas at CJ ENM, after beginning his career at Goldman Sachs.
John D'Agostino
Head of Strategy
Coinbase Institutional
Profile

John D’Agostino is Head of Strategy for Coinbase Institutional. A former Head of Strategy at the New York Mercantile Exchange, he lectures on fintech at Oxford, MIT, and Columbia University.
Jong-wan Kim
Team Leader
Digital Asset Team, Mirae Asset Securities
Profile

Jong-wan Kim is a Team Leader in the Digital Asset Team at Mirae Asset Securities. He works on digital-asset business and strategy, with a focus on the intersection of capital markets and digital assets.
Sam Sim
Head
Digital Assets, Strategic Planning Team, Meritz Securities
Profile

Sam Sim leads the global digital asset business at Meritz Securities. Previously, he served as Korea Lead for BNB Chain at Binance, co-founded a Web3 venture, and graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Byung-hwa Lim
Professor
Sungkyunkwan University
Profile

Byung-hwa Lim is a professor at Sungkyunkwan University, where he researches and teaches blockchain and digital transformation. His work examines how technological, industrial, and regulatory change shapes finance and society.
Je-seok Hong
Senior Associate
Digital Asset Department, Shinhan Securities
Profile

Je-seok Hong is a Senior Associate in the Digital Asset Department at Shinhan Securities. He works on digital-asset initiatives including real-world asset tokenization and stablecoins, as well as global regulatory analysis and overseas partnerships.
Paul Kim
Chairman
New Frontier Partners (Fypher)
Profile

Paul Kim is the Founder of New Frontier Partners Group, which focuses on building institutional-grade financial infrastructure bridging digital assets and traditional finance, and the Founder of Fypher, a stablecoin infrastructure platform. He also serves as CEO of RN2 Technologies, a publicly listed company in Korea. Paul began his career in traditional finance as a fixed-income fund manager at Franklin Templeton. He later served as a board director of BTHMB Holdings, the Singapore-based parent company of Bithumb Korea, and founded Ragnar Capital Management, a Singapore-based asset management firm. Today, he is leading initiatives in stablecoins, real-world asset tokenization, and cross-border capital markets, with a focus on Asia.
Thomas Chen
Chief Business Officer
BNB Chain
Profile

Thomas Chen is the Chief Business Officer at BNB Chain, where he focuses on revenue strategy, institutional partnerships, and long-term value creation for the BNB Chain ecosystem. His remit spans institutional and capital markets, stablecoins and settlement, trading and liquidity, and ecosystem distribution—connecting banks, asset managers, and RWA issuers to one of crypto’s largest distribution networks. He previously served as CEO of Bitcoin yield protocol Function and as Managing Director and Global Head of Sales at BitGo, where he grew assets under custody to more than US$100 billion; he has spent over seven years of his 15-year career building commercial teams across digital asset infrastructure for institutions in traditional finance and DeFi.
Sang-hyun Sung
Executive Director
ABP Asset Management
Profile

Sang-hyun Sung is an investment professional with experience in fixed income, global asset allocation, and overseas equity management across securities firms and institutional investment organizations. He leads equity investment management at ABP Asset Management and teaches corporate finance as an adjunct professor at Hanyang University. He is the author of Fed Insight and The U.S. Investment Mega Cycle, and researches investment strategies that connect macroeconomic shifts with capital flows, growth industries, and market leaders.
Kwangho An
Researcher
Tiger Research
Profile

Kwangho An is a Researcher at Tiger Research, covering Asia’s Web3 and cryptocurrency markets. His research focuses on AI agents, DeFi, stablecoins, market structure, and regulation. He previously worked across crypto business development and AML/KYC operations, and currently focuses on analyzing industry developments through market data, policy, and business models.
Leo Li
Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer
AEON Protocol
Profile

Leo Yiyang Li is Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of AEON Protocol, which builds payment and settlement infrastructure for the agentic economy. Previously a technical lead for Google Ads recommendation systems, he now leads the development of technology that connects AI agents with real-world commerce through stablecoins and protocols including x402.
Frederick Tan
Associate Director of Revenue
The Block
Profile

Frederick Tan is Associate Director of Revenue at The Block, leading strategic partnerships and growth across the Asia-Pacific region. With leadership experience at The Block, Messari, and Cointelegraph, he has spent the past decade at the intersection of Web3, AI, and emerging technologies. He is also an entrepreneur and venture builder developing AI-powered platforms for thought leadership and startup acceleration, and is a frequent speaker and moderator on the role of AI and blockchain in digital innovation.
Allan Monteiro
Director of Business Development, APAC & Middle East
Parfin / Rayls
Profile

Allan Monteiro leads Business Development for APAC and the Middle East at Parfin, a blockchain infrastructure company for institutional finance. He drives the expansion of Rayls, Parfin’s institutional blockchain network, and builds strategic partnerships for tokenization, stablecoins, and on-chain finance across banks, asset managers, and enterprises. Since joining Parfin, he has led collaborations with J.P. Morgan, Bradesco, XP, and Tether, contributing to the digital-asset transition of Brazil’s financial sector.