Debate over a 'new order' for digital assets and AI… 'EastPoint:Seoul 2026' to be held in Seoul on Sept. 28

‘EastPoint:Seoul 2026 (EastPoint:Seoul 2026)’, jointly hosted by global Web3 venture capital firm Hashed, Bloomingbit and The Korea Economic Daily, will be held in Seoul on Sept. 28. Marking its second year, EastPoint is positioned as a platform where policymakers, financial institutions, corporates, the blockchain industry and academia jointly discuss and chart execution paths for the economic paradigm shift being catalyzed by digital assets and artificial intelligence (AI).

A new financial infrastructure—such as stablecoins, real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and digital capital markets—is rapidly reshaping global liquidity and the monetary order. The United States is elevating digital assets into a national strategy, while leading global financial institutions are building their own digital-asset infrastructure. EastPoint’s central premise is that countries that join this shift proactively can become “rule makers” designing the new order, whereas those that fail to do so will remain “rule takers,” following systems designed by others.

Unlike conventional blockchain conferences, EastPoint operates a “dual-track” format that combines a main stage with closed-door roundtables. Participants can grasp global trends in public sessions while delving deeply into practical, regulatory and policy issues that are difficult to address on stage in private roundtables. The structure is designed to naturally facilitate “unlearning,” or letting go of existing mental models, and “relearning,” or building execution strategies aligned with the new order.

The inaugural ‘EastPoint:Seoul 2025’ held last year drew 503 participants and 63 speakers, with more than 50 business meetings and over 40 closed-door roundtables. Participation by policy leaders at home and abroad was particularly notable. From Korea, lawmakers from across the aisle attended, including Min Byeong-deok and Ahn Do-geol of the Democratic Party of Korea, Kim Jae-seop and Choi Bo-yoon of the People Power Party, and Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party. Internationally, acting Chair Caroline Pham of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and an official from the White House Digital Assets Policy Advisory Committee took part, leading discussions on digital-asset regulation and policy direction.

In addition, a broad lineup of major global projects—Circle, World Liberty Financial, BitGo, Anchorage Digital and Canton Network—along with key domestic financial institutions, participated to address institutional trust-building, regulatory frameworks and blockchain infrastructure design. Hashed Open Research (HOR) also published a report analyzing the discussions at EastPoint:Seoul 2025, titled ‘A Learning Platform for the Republic of Korea’s Digital G2 Vision: Designing a Digital-and-AI Economy Through Unlearning and Relearning.’

This year’s event will broaden the agenda further. Topics are expected to span from financial practice to civilizational transition, including stablecoins, institutional digital-asset management, RWA and an autonomous AI economy. EastPoint:Seoul 2026 is expected to host policy, finance and technology discussions at a global level beyond Asia.

Hashed CEO Kim Seo-jun said, “Digital assets and AI are changing the very way we own and participate,” adding, “EastPoint’s role is to create a venue to discuss the direction of this change together with leaders from industry and regulatory bodies.”

Bloomingbit CEO Kim San-ha said, “EastPoint:Seoul 2026 is a place where substantive discussion and connection happen simultaneously at the intersection of industry, policy and technology,” adding, “It will serve as a starting point for learning and execution for Korea to move forward as a rule maker in the digital economy.”