Dunamu CEO: "Overseas Exchanges Entering Domestic Market Will Not Shake Upbit's Competitiveness"

"Upbit's Next Challenge is NFT
Hive Joint Venture Levels Will Deliver Results"

Lee Seok-woo, CEO of Dunamu, is being interviewed on the 13th at Dunamu in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] Lee Seok-woo, CEO of Dunamu, said on the 22nd regarding the domestic entry of global asset exchanges including Binance, "I don't know if it's possible, but thanks to Upbit's competitiveness and transparency, I believe that the position of Upbit, the largest virtual asset exchange in Korea, will not be shaken."

At a press conference for the '2022 UDC', an Upbit developer meeting held at the Busan Port International Exhibition & Convention Center (BPEX) on the same day, CEO Lee said, "Domestic virtual asset exchanges should be in a position to accept foreign customers in order to compete on equal footing."

He added, "Banks seem to think that digital asset exchange funds have money laundering issues, so there is a problem if they are transferred overseas," and "Other blockchain companies also face difficulties in overseas business."

Upbit, a virtual asset exchange operated by Dunamu, recorded sales of 3.7 trillion KRW last year, powered by the liquidity unleashed during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this year, as risk asset investment sentiment sharply contracted, trading volume has significantly decreased, and Upbit's commission revenue has also plummeted.

Regarding this, CEO Lee emphasized, "Since blockchain is centered on transactions, the next challenge is non-fungible tokens (NFTs)," adding, "We are about to launch the Levels service, a joint venture with HYBE, and we expect to enjoy a business that can freely access overseas markets globally."

Previously, Dunamu established Levels, an NFT service joint venture in the United States with entertainment company HYBE, and is promoting an NFT business utilizing HYBE's artist intellectual property (IP). This involves applying NFTs to limited edition albums, photocards, videos, and original goods and content produced by the agency for HYBE-affiliated idols such as BTS and SEVENTEEN.

CEO Lee stressed, "Since there is a much wider market overseas, if we create NFT products with HYBE, which has an excellent artist fandom, and do it overseas, it will yield results."

Meanwhile, regarding the Digital Asset Act being promoted by the government, CEO Lee said, "The EU's regulatory law MiCA is important, but the trend in the United States is more important," adding, "Since U.S. President Biden has announced an executive order, it is right to refer to everything and legislate accordingly."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.