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Circle Signs With Dunamu, Bithumb as Allaire Steps Up South Korea Push

Source

Korea Economic Daily

Summary

Circle said it is the issuer of USD Coin (USDC), the world’s second-largest dollar-based stablecoin.
Dunamu, Bithumb and Coinone are working with Circle to support USDC trading and strengthen digital-asset infrastructure.
Circle has held a series of meetings with executives across South Korea’s fintech and financial sectors as it prepares to expand in the market.

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Circle CEO Visits South Korea

Jeremy Allaire, founder and chief executive officer of Circle Internet Group, visited South Korea on April 13. Circle issues USD Coin, or USDC, the world’s second-largest dollar-based stablecoin. The company has been meeting major local crypto exchanges and financial firms as it ramps up its push into South Korea ahead of legislation on a digital-asset law centered on stablecoin issuance.

Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, said April 13 that it signed a broad memorandum of understanding with Circle on digital-asset innovation and education in South Korea. Allaire attended the signing ceremony.

Oh Kyung-seok, Dunamu’s chief executive officer, said he was pleased to work with Circle, citing its experience operating a regulation-friendly digital-asset business. Dunamu will work to help build a healthy digital-asset ecosystem, he added. Allaire called South Korea an important market for digital-asset innovation.

Allaire also signed a business agreement with Bithumb on April 13 to strengthen digital-asset infrastructure. He is set to meet Coinone executives on April 14. The moves deepen cooperation with three exchanges that support USDC trading.

USDC has a market capitalization of about $84.8 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. That ranks it second in the stablecoin market behind Tether’s USDT, which has a market value of about $195.7 billion.

Allaire also met a series of fintech and financial executives as part of Circle’s South Korea push. Attendees at a lunch on April 13 included Baek Hyun-sook, chief executive officer of Danal; Choi Jong-won, chief executive officer of Hecto Financial; Choi Hyuk-jae, head of the digital division at Shinhan Financial Group; Park Hyung-joo, head of AI and digital transformation at KB Financial Group; and Park Geun-young, president of Hana Financial TI.

Park Si-on, Hankyung.com reporter ushire908@hankyung.com