First Digital CEO Says Stablecoins Are Essential to AI Payments, Sees Strong Potential for Won Token

Uk Jin

Summary

Vincent Chok said stablecoins are the core infrastructure that makes AI agent payments possible.
He said $3 trillion to $5 trillion in payments will be made through AI over the next five to 10 years, and that stablecoin use is expanding into the real economy.
He said a won-based stablecoin could generate global demand on the back of South Korea's cultural and content competitiveness and help expand the economy's global influence.

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Vincent Chok, chief executive officer of First Digital, speaks at a seminar on global stablecoin trends and opportunities for South Korea's digital economy at the National Assembly in Seoul on May 12. Photo: Jin Wook, BlockMedia

"Payments by AI agents would be impossible without stablecoins, digital assets pegged to fiat currencies."

Vincent Chok, chief executive officer of First Digital, made the remarks on May 12 at a seminar at South Korea's National Assembly in Seoul on global stablecoin trends and opportunities for the country's digital economy. First Digital is the Hong Kong-based issuer of the FDUSD dollar stablecoin.

Chok described stablecoins as "programmable money" and called them core infrastructure for AI payments. While they were once used mainly for exchange liquidity and settlement, their role has recently expanded into the real economy.

As AI development accelerates, payments worth $3 trillion to $5 trillion could be made through AI over the next five to 10 years, he said. Stablecoins are the key infrastructure that can enable those transactions.

Chok said the combination of the AI economy and stablecoins could generate wide-ranging economic effects. AI is moving beyond a tool for efficiency and becoming the foundation for new economic activity. Individuals will be able to use AI-based wallets and services to create new income models, he added.

He also stressed the need for stablecoins tied to a range of currencies in the AI era. If AI agents begin to be used in services in different countries, each market will need its own stablecoin rather than relying only on dollar-denominated tokens. From that perspective, a won-based stablecoin could play an important role.

Chok also spoke positively about the potential of a won stablecoin. South Korea's strength in culture and content is globally competitive, he said, which could generate sufficient demand for a won stablecoin in international markets. A won stablecoin could also help expand the global reach of the South Korean economy.

FDUSD