The institutional adoption of digital assets in Asia is heating up. South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore are all looking for more opportunities in the space, thanks to more regulatory clarity in the region, people told TechCrunch+ during Korea Blockchain Week.
After multiple industry-changing events crippled the industry’s advancement last year, like the collapse of Terra/LUNA (who’s founder Do Kwon is from South Korea) and FTX filing for bankruptcy (the crypto exchange was once based out of Hong Kong), the positive shift is welcome, according to several industry players in the region.
Even with the crypto bear market continuing and prices coming down from all-time highs, there’s still sufficient global interest, said Jason Atkins, chief commercial officer of global algorithmic trading and market making firm Auros. “Crypto is addressing a lot of questions for existing financial institutions and banks,” he told TechCrunch+.
Institutional adoption is better in Asia compared to the U.S. and Europe because Asian companies are more willing to listen and educate themselves on the industry, said Justin Kim, head of Korea at Ava Labs. Other regions “cross their arms and want to wait and see,” he said.
