Ahn Do-geol Says Won Stablecoins Are Key to Protecting Monetary Sovereignty at EastPoint: Seoul 2026

"Stablecoins are foundational monetary and financial infrastructure for the digital-transition era. As the shift to an AI-centered era accelerates, stablecoins could become one of the essential means of payment. Ensuring won-denominated stablecoins play part of that role in the digital-currency era is also a way to protect our monetary sovereignty."

Ahn Do-geol, a lawmaker from South Korea's Democratic Party, made the remarks on September 28 at EastPoint: Seoul 2026, a global private conference on digital assets held at the Westin Josun Seoul Parnas in Seoul's Samseong-dong.

The panel discussion, titled "From Deposits to Digital Money: How Institutions Enter the Stablecoin Era," featured Ahn; Vidit Agrawal, Circle's vice president for APAC partnerships and business development; Guy Oren, general partner at a16z crypto; Vibhu Diwakar, head of the Canton Foundation; and Harry Jung, managing director for strategy and partnerships at Nxum.

Ahn said stablecoins would move beyond being a simple payment tool and become the foundation for a new wave of financial innovation. If institutionalized, they could do more than improve efficiency over existing financial instruments. They could also become a platform that creates a range of opportunities for financial innovation. The changes brought by stablecoins are not just about the arrival of another payment tool. They are about building new financial infrastructure for the era of digital finance and AI.

Jung, a former deputy executive director of the White House Digital Assets Advisory Council, said institutional participation in the U.S. has accelerated following regulatory changes. Retail users drove much of the market in the past. Now institutions and infrastructure companies are entering the stablecoin market in earnest. Since the GENIUS Act, the number of companies seeking to enter the U.S. market has increased markedly.

Agrawal said banks in Asia are also shifting their stance on stablecoins quickly. In the past, meetings were attended mainly by innovation teams. Now teams responsible for actual negotiations and business execution are joining those discussions. The conversation has moved to what can be built together.

Oren said new revenue models would emerge around payments. The market should not focus only on exchanges or liquidity. It also needs to look at a broader range of payment-related use cases. A variety of services and monetization models could be built on top of stablecoin infrastructure.

Diwakar said confidentiality, settlement finality and regulatory compliance are the key requirements for institutional adoption. In institutional finance, not every position and transaction can be disclosed to every counterparty. Because institutions across multiple jurisdictions work together, infrastructure needs to account for both global and local requirements.

Stablecoins See Rising Institutional Adoption, but Interoperability and Price Stability Remain Challenges

Panelists said broader institutional adoption will also require progress on regulation and market infrastructure.

Diwakar cited regulatory clarity and market fragmentation as the main challenges. What matters is not how quickly rules are written, but whether the system is developed at a pace that allows real services to emerge. The industry also needs to consider how different systems can be standardized and combined.

Agrawal stressed interoperability. If multiple types of stablecoins emerge, interoperability between them will need to be ensured. That will require neutral infrastructure that is not dependent on any one company or technology.

Ahn said distribution and price-stabilization mechanisms are core issues. Infrastructure must be built so stablecoins can circulate smoothly, and risks that may arise as intermediaries disappear need to be managed. Mechanisms are also needed to protect the price of late entrants and stablecoins with smaller circulation.

Jung said policy design should reflect the views of people working in the industry. The key question is what kind of outcome the policy is meant to produce and whether it can create real economic value. People who understand the market should take part in the policymaking process.

Oren said privacy is another core challenge. Privacy matters, but it still is not getting enough attention. Institutions will only adopt at scale if privacy can also be implemented effectively on-chain.

Oh Yoo-rim, Bloomingbit reporter / Kang Min-seung, Bloomingbit reporter