Ha Tae-kyung, President of the Korea Insurance Institute: "The insurance industry must proactively embrace virtual assets and 'crypto'"

Ha Tae-kyung, President of the Korea Insurance Institute, emphasized that the insurance industry must proactively embrace virtual assets (cryptocurrencies) to respond to future changes.

According to the industry on the 6th, President Ha made these remarks during his keynote speech on "The Future of Insurance Shaped by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Crypto" at the Korea Global Insurance Conference (KIIC) held the previous day. On this day, President Ha mentioned the speed of digital transformation in the insurance environment and presented the role of virtual assets as the core future task for insurance.

President Ha stated, "It will become a tool that makes insurance much simpler and much more global," adding, "Virtual assets can revitalize insurance."

He especially highlighted the possibilities of insurance structures based on stablecoins. He said, "This structure allows for premiums and payouts to be paid and received in virtual assets, and it is based on stablecoins, which are relatively less volatile in price compared to Bitcoin," and added, "AXA Switzerland previously offered a service in 2021 that accepted insurance premiums through a Bitcoin payment system."

He further explained, "One of the U.S. stablecoin bills, called the 'Genius (GENIUS) Act,' would grant non-bank institutions that have received federal or state government approval the qualification to issue stablecoins, thereby expanding the possibilities for insurance companies to operate stablecoin-based products."

The Genius Act is currently being discussed in the U.S. Senate, aiming to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers.

President Ha added, "Stablecoin-based insurance can enable the establishment of a global premium system, free from the standards of individual national currencies," and "People could even purchase insurance with a wallet instead of a bank account." However, he explained that in order to prevent money laundering risks associated with stablecoins, abnormal transaction detection and identity verification (KYC) must be strictly enforced.

Meanwhile, the Korea Insurance Institute is reportedly considering including content related to virtual assets in its future training programs.