ArcPoint Concludes ‘Next Finance Summit,’ Outlines Direction for ‘K-Finance’

ArcPoint, a blockchain and artificial intelligence transformation consulting firm, said on June 16 that it had wrapped up the Next Finance Summit.

Held on June 15 at Grand Hill Convention in Seoul’s Gangnam district, the event focused on the on-chain transition of global finance. It featured seven keynote sessions and two panel discussions. Attendees included representatives from major South Korean financial institutions and global projects, including NH Investment & Securities, Woori Bank, Coinone, Hecto Financial and Hanwha Asset Management.

One of the most closely watched sessions was a panel discussion on won-based stablecoins. Representatives from Woori Bank, Coinone and Hecto Wallet One, a Hecto Innovation unit, discussed practical approaches to issuance, distribution and payment structures.

Han Seung-hoon, deputy general manager in Woori Bank’s Digital Innovation Department, said the starting point for a won stablecoin is trust based on a 100% reserve. Banks must secure issuance stability so users can fully trust that the token preserves the value of the won.

Park Ki-beom, head of strategic planning at Coinone, said issuance and burning must be verified on-chain in real time to build market trust. Exchanges must go beyond simple trading and serve as infrastructure responsible for transparency in distribution.

Ryu Chun, vice president of Hecto Wallet One, said fintech firms must connect existing payment networks with global settlement rails for stablecoins to be used in actual payments. He added that demand is likely to expand first in cross-border transactions.

In a session on real-world asset tokenization, or RWA, speakers identified asset fragmentation as a core challenge. Fig, co-founder of Squid Router, which supports asset swaps across networks, said decentralized finance faces a structural limit because it has not secured enough high-quality assets. Bringing real estate, commodities and bonds on-chain is the solution.

He said Squid is playing that role through a unifying layer that connects more than 100 blockchains, bringing assets and liquidity together.

Speakers also highlighted stablecoins’ potential in AI payments. Hong Sung-wook, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, said stablecoins are rapidly emerging as a payment method between AI agents. With regulatory frameworks such as the U.S. GENIUS Act advancing, payment infrastructure combining AI and blockchain is becoming a reality.

A tokenized gold case was also presented. Lee Sang-yoon, chief executive officer of ITCEN, said the company is building a “GoldFi” structure that allows physical gold to be traded on blockchain. He described it as a model that combines the trust of traditional assets with blockchain’s efficiency.

The event showed that cooperation among traditional finance, blockchain and the AI industry is moving into the business execution stage.

Oh Tae-wan, chief executive officer of ArcPoint, said major economies including the U.S. and Europe are already moving quickly to establish digital asset frameworks. South Korea also needs to accelerate related legislation and policy work, he said. Given the country’s high share of global trading volume, combining regulation and technology could help create a new standard for “K-Finance.”