MOA Protocol CEO Says WLFI Partnership to Expand Financial Ecosystem, Broaden Everyday Crypto Use in South Korea [Cointerview]

Interview with MOA Protocol CEO Stefan Piech

USD1 to Be Integrated Into MOA Asset Management and Payment Services

MOA Card, DeFi and Swap Services to Be Linked to Expand Everyday Use

'South Korea Is a Market Where We Want to Invest More Time'

"The current financial system and the digital-asset ecosystem are fragmented, so cryptocurrencies often remain confined to trading and are not properly used in daily life," Stefan Piech, chief executive officer of MOA Protocol, told Bloomingbit in an interview published on Oct. 7. "MOA Protocol wants to improve the real-world user experience for digital assets and, through its USD1 partnership with World Liberty Financial, expand both companies' financial ecosystems together."

Piech outlined a plan to connect digital assets into a single financial ecosystem that goes beyond investment and trading. The aim is to make them usable across everyday finance, including asset management, transfers and payments.

The service structure resembles global fintech company Revolut, but the starting point is different. Revolut integrated payments, investing and travel into one app from a traditional-finance base. MOA, by contrast, is building an integrated financial experience centered on digital assets.

Expanding USD1 Real-World Use: 'We Want the MOA Card to Be a Crypto Banking Card'

MOA Protocol recently entered a strategic partnership with World Liberty Financial, or WLFI, and is expanding cooperation across the two companies' financial services. Through the partnership, WLFI's dollar stablecoin USD1 will be linked to MOA's DeFi asset-management and payment services, while MOA also aims to broaden its financial offerings and user benefits.

MOA Protocol is pursuing an all-in-one finance strategy that connects the management, transfer and spending of digital assets in a single experience. To do that, it is building services around MOA-Fi, a DeFi asset-management offering; the MOA Card, which allows crypto to be used for real-world payments; and MOA Swap, which supports fast, low-cost exchanges between stablecoins based on different fiat currencies.

The MOA Card is designed to connect users' crypto holdings directly to everyday spending. Users can pay for meals, shopping and other purchases without first moving assets into a bank account. MOA is also adding consumer benefits such as hotel discounts and cashback. That allows users to spend digital assets directly on a range of everyday purchases through the card.

The partnership with World Liberty Financial is an extension of that broader strategy to expand real-world use. Piech said MOA wants to build an ecosystem based on trust and sees USD1 as a strong partner. He added that MOA can provide more real-world utility for USD1. The two companies plan to link USD1 to financial services including the MOA Card to broaden its use cases.

"We don't want to stop at issuing a crypto card," Piech said. "We want to make it a card that is genuinely useful. Ultimately, the goal is for it to become users' crypto banking card."

He added that MOA aims to connect cards, yield products, swaps and country-level partnerships into a single financial ecosystem. The goal is to let users hold and manage assets, move funds across borders and make payments in one flow without switching between services.

In South Korea, the company also sees medical tourism as a key area for real-world adoption. MOA Protocol recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Medical Tourism Promotion Association and plans to expand a model under which overseas users visiting South Korea can pay for medical services with digital assets including USD1 through the MOA Card and receive affiliated benefits.

"We want overseas users visiting South Korea to use digital assets more conveniently when accessing medical services, while also receiving a range of partner benefits," Piech said.

'South Korea Is a Market Where We Want to Invest More Time': Goal Is a Daily Finance App

MOA Protocol's long-term goal is to grow MOA into a financial service that spans daily life rather than a standalone crypto app. The company sees South Korea as a core market because crypto adoption is high and the country has strong potential for new technology and crypto-based payments.

"South Korea is much more open to trying crypto cards and using crypto in everyday life," Piech said. "It is one of the markets where we want to invest more time going forward." While crypto ownership and trading rates are high in the country, cases of actual consumer spending remain limited. MOA sees that gap in real-world use as a business opportunity.

To address that, the company is focused on improving the user experience for digital assets. "I want MOA to become part of users' daily lives," Piech said. "I hope people can use MOA when buying groceries or taking the subway. Over time, we want to create an environment where users can receive their salaries in digital assets, manage them and spend them, all within a single account."

MOA plans to expand partnerships beyond medical tourism into transportation, travel and lifestyle services. "The most important thing right now is growing the user base and securing more partners," Piech said. "MOA Protocol already has thousands of users, and we will continue adding more value to the ecosystem." The company's strategy is to pursue partnerships across industries rather than limit itself to one sector, broadening benefits for users.

Kang Min-seung, Bloomingbit reporter minriver@bloomingbit.io