An illustration of Tether stablecoins. [Reuters]
An illustration of Tether stablecoins. [Reuters]

Even as virtual asset legislation stalls in the United States, substantive changes — including the tokenization of equities — continue to move forward, and South Korea should shed its outdated regulatory framework and embrace the opportunities in the digital asset market, speakers said at a seminar Monday.

Miller Whitehouse-Levine, CEO of the Solana Policy Institute, told the "Future of Finance on Blockchain" seminar held at the National Assembly Members' Hall in Yeouido, Seoul, that "virtual asset legislation in the US Congress is being delayed, but regulators are putting the relevant rules in place."

He said that two days after the CLARITY Act failed, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced a measure allowing shares of US-listed companies to be tokenized and traded on public blockchains. "The most important and fundamental regulatory change in the United States has taken place," he said.

However, he observed that the CLARITY Act is unlikely to pass even in two years' time, given the sharp disagreements over its ethics provisions.

Joseph Shalom, co-CEO of Sharering, urged South Korean regulators to take a forward-looking approach, warning that "if Korean regulators remain bound by past mistakes, they will miss future opportunities." Shalom, whose company strategically acquires Ethereum, described his experience helping launch Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs at BlackRock, saying close cooperation with regulators had been a key factor.

He forecast that finance will evolve into a form combining stablecoins, asset tokenization, on-chain finance and AI agents.

"I believe Korea can be a leader in the future of finance," he said, adding that "industry and regulators need to meet in the middle" to make that happen.

Min Byeong-deok, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker who co-hosted the seminar, apologized for delays in drafting a basic digital asset law. "I am sorry that the digital asset framework law we promised has been delayed," he said. "I think we can deliver results, given that both ruling and opposition parties share the view that we cannot put it off any longer."

Experts also called for domestic regulations to focus on purpose and risk rather than targeting specific technologies or structures.

Hwang Hyeon-il, an attorney at law firm Sejong, said that "when rights are recorded on a blockchain, the records must be tamper-proof and participants must be identifiable," adding that regulations should be grounded in the principle of applying the same rules to the same risks.

Voices also called for urgent work on concrete legal standards ahead of the institutionalization of stablecoins and the STO regime.

Kim Wan-seong, head of the digital asset business division at Koscom, said the most pressing question is "which stage should be legally recognized as settlement finality," adding that "the criteria and procedures for recognizing and executing specific assets as collateral will need to be spelled out."


kimstar@heraldcorp.com