On June 10, 2025, DSRV Fin:Frame 2025 was held at Seongam Art Hall in Seoul under the theme “Stablecoins: Breaking the Borders of Finance.”

DSRV Fin:Frame is a newly launched event series designed to re-envision the structure and direction of future finance at the intersection of regulation, policy, and technology. This year’s event marked its very first edition.

With stablecoins emerging as a new global financial standard, the conference explored their present and future from multiple angles. Global projects, regulatory experts, investors, and industry leaders gathered to discuss opportunities for collaboration and direction-setting from the perspectives of technology, policy, and markets.

Hosted by global blockchain financial infrastructure company DSRV, the event was joined by StraitsX as the official partner, and Ava Labs, Chainlink, and Canton as official sponsors, creating a truly global platform for in-depth discussions.

Through a variety of keynotes and panel discussions, participants shared actionable insights on the evolving flows of capital around stablecoins, regulatory responses, and the expansion of real-world use cases.

This recap highlights the key takeaways from each session and explores the insights and opportunities that can help position Korea as Asia’s stablecoin hub.

Stablecoins: The Evolution of Global Payment Infrastructure

StraitsX: A New Paradigm in Digital Payments Driven by Stablecoins

StraitsX CEO Tenwei Liu introduced how stablecoins are addressing the speed and cost limitations of traditional payment systems while enhancing the efficiency of cross-border transactions.

Based in Singapore, StraitsX issues various stablecoins such as XSGD and XUSD, and has partnered with major global players like Alipay+ and Grab to build real-world applications. These include digital vouchers, real-time QR code payments, and tokenization-based lending services for SMEs.

Through these use cases, StraitsX emphasized that stablecoins are more than just a means of payment—they are a core technology capable of driving innovation in both global financial infrastructure and everyday payment environments.

DSRV: Stablecoins as Financial Infrastructure for All

DSRV CEO Ji-yoon Kim emphasized that stablecoins are evolving beyond mere digital technology into global infrastructure that enables more people to enjoy financial benefits. Using a payment case study between Singapore and Korea, he showcased the potential of stablecoins for real-time cross-border settlement and demonstrated payment flows using various currency-based stablecoins through DSRV’s platform, SPiKE.

SPiKE makes cross-border payments simpler by reducing inefficiencies such as complex currency exchanges, high fees, and remittance delays found in traditional financial systems. Through this, DSRV highlighted the possibility of building a more inclusive financial ecosystem where anyone can participate with ease.

Regulatory Insights: The Future of Korea’s Digital Asset Policy
Exploring the Korean Won Digital Asset Ecosystem: Stablecoins and the CBDC Market

Professor Jongseob Lee of Seoul National University compared and analyzed the roles of CBDCs and stablecoins, outlining the developmental direction of a won-based digital asset ecosystem.

He noted that while CBDCs could serve as an effective tool for policy implementation, they may face certain limitations in terms of technological scalability and global interoperability. In contrast, a won-denominated stablecoin could serve as a more suitable alternative for driving private-sector digital financial innovation and expanding global payment infrastructure.

Furthermore, Professor Lee proposed that building a digital financial infrastructure would require a hybrid structure that incorporates both CBDCs and stablecoins. To support such a system, he highlighted several key conditions: automated on-chain regulation, capital flow controls, international policy coordination, multi-currency reserve systems, digital liquidity regulation standards, emergency liquidity backstop agreements, and the development of a won-based payment platform.

Proposals for Domestic Stablecoin Regulation

Attorney Hyobong Kim of Bae, Kim & Lee LLC provided a comprehensive overview of the key regulatory issues surrounding stablecoins in Korea. In particular, as the issuance of won-denominated stablecoins gains momentum, he outlined the current debates on major topics such as a two-step legislative process linking the Electronic Financial Transactions Act with the Digital Asset Basic Act, the potential participation of fintech companies, the permissibility of interest payments, issuer requirements, and bankruptcy response frameworks.

He further emphasized the need to refine regulations on the domestic circulation of foreign-issued stablecoins to minimize regulatory arbitrage and to strengthen the competitiveness of local projects. Core regulatory items that must be considered in stablecoin issuance include rationalizing disclosure and listing regulations, clarifying reserve asset requirements (e.g., whether to allow MMF investments), and preparing contingency measures in the event of operational failures.

Finally, drawing on Hong Kong’s sandbox example, he suggested the establishment of an effective supervisory framework covering issuer eligibility, reserve asset management standards, user protection, and compliance with AML/CFT (Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing) requirements.

Infrastructure for Trustworthy Stablecoins

AvaCloud: A Privacy-Preserving, Compliant, and Interoperable Stablecoin Framework

AvaCloud CEO Nick Mussallem highlighted the importance of privacy, regulatory compliance, and interoperability in stablecoin design, introducing a modern stablecoin infrastructure that addresses these needs. He pointed out that for financial institutions, exposing customer information, trading strategies, or asset flows externally is not feasible—and that the “excessive transparency” of traditional public blockchains can actually become a constraint. This underscores the need for infrastructure that guarantees privacy.

As a solution, AvaCloud proposed a full-stack framework that includes a customizable dedicated L1 chain, Avacy for privacy protection, the regulatory-friendly model Wyoming Stable Token, and built-in interoperability powered by the Avalanche ecosystem.

This framework reflects the practical requirements of financial institutions and suggests a design direction for stablecoin infrastructure that balances regulatory needs with technological innovation.

Chainlink: Building the Foundations of Stablecoins

Jaeuk Lee, DevRel Engineer at Chainlink, introduced how Chainlink’s decentralized oracle network serves as core infrastructure bridging traditional finance and digital asset markets, underpinning the reliability and scalability of stablecoins.

He highlighted that through Price Feeds, Proof of Reserves, and Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), Chainlink enables stablecoins to achieve universality, transparency, and scalability. As real-world examples, he shared that Ripple’s RLUSD integrates with DeFi through Chainlink’s price feeds, while Bancolombia’s COPW ensures reserve transparency via Chainlink’s Proof of Reserves.

These technologies, he emphasized, are critical to enhancing the trust and scalability of stablecoins in practical use, positioning Chainlink as the foundational infrastructure supporting their adoption.

Canton Network: Privacy-Centric Stablecoin Design and Implementation

Dorit Du, APAC Representative at Canton, explained that Canton is a public Layer-1 blockchain designed with privacy, on-chain control, and composability, enabling the protection of sensitive financial data while ensuring both reliability and efficiency.

She highlighted how Canton contributes to global financial infrastructure through a structure where all network participants—from app developers to infrastructure operators—are fairly rewarded, and through integrations of real-world asset-backed stablecoins such as USDC and USYC.

In practice, major financial institutions including Circle, HSBC, and the BIS are already participating in the network, demonstrating Canton’s position as a core infrastructure for the next-generation financial ecosystem.

Panel Discussion: How Stablecoins Will Reshape the Global Financial Ecosystem

Moderated by Professor Jongseob Lee of Seoul National University’s Business School, the panel featured Tenwei Liu, CEO of StraitsX; Byungyoon Seo, CSO of DSRV; Justin Kim, Head of Asia at Ava Labs; and Hyobong Kim, attorney at Bae, Kim & Lee LLC. The discussion delved into topics including the legal definition of stablecoins, practical operations, privacy protection, national regulatory frameworks, and opportunities for regional collaboration in Asia.

Legal Definition and Regulation of Stablecoins

Attorney Hyobong Kim explained that Korean law currently focuses mainly on the role of stablecoins as a “means of payment,” and that greater consideration is needed regarding legal consistency in the context of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Byungyoon Seo, CSO of DSRV, emphasized that while Korea has relatively strong regulatory alignment and is advancing rapidly with institutionalization, effective operations require a careful balance of technology, regulation, and market factors.

Global Perspectives on Operations and Collaboration

Justin Kim highlighted that Avalanche provides technical support for various stablecoin initiatives and stressed the importance of close cooperation with countries across Asia. Tenwei Liu elaborated on how StraitsX, as a regulation-friendly stablecoin project, maintains a balance between technological privacy and legal transparency, sharing concrete examples.

Privacy and Interoperability

Panelists agreed that privacy is not merely about anonymity; rather, it requires technical and regulatory approaches that allow regulatory agencies to trace activity when necessary, while still protecting user rights.

This panel discussion went beyond regulatory debates, offering a meaningful opportunity for practitioners and developers to share the real-world challenges and opportunities they face, while also exploring concrete possibilities for Korea and other Asian countries to collaborate in building the financial infrastructure of the future.

Closing Remarks

Stablecoins are no longer just a technological advancement; they are increasingly recognized as the foundation for fundamentally redesigning the structure and accessibility of financial systems.

Fin:Frame 2025 provided a platform to examine the intersection of regulation, technology, and markets through the lens of stablecoins, encouraging reflection on the roles of Korea and Asia within the rapidly evolving global financial infrastructure.

The event went beyond mere conceptual introductions or technical demos, focusing instead on real-world use cases, policy insights, and technology discussions that reflect the practical needs of financial institutions. It was a moment to confirm that stablecoins are no longer about “possibility,” but about “reality”—while also underscoring the remaining challenges and the importance of collaboration in addressing them.

Looking ahead, DSRV Fin:Frame will continue to ask the most essential questions, foster meaningful connections, and broaden the possibilities of future finance in an era of rapid change.

Stay tuned for the next chapter of Fin:Frame.