[INTERVIEW] MultiversX CMO lauds Korea's efforts to overtake Hong Kong, Singapore as blockchain powerhouse

Blockchain network to host xDay Global next year in Korea after success in Germany

By Lee Kyung-min

Korea is an ideal Asian launchpad with an ambition to overtake Singapore and Hong Kong as a hub for innovation as a blockchain powerhouse, underpinned by a high standard for robust and user-friendly technology, according to a marketing representative of a blockchain network operator headquartered in Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

Blockchain technology is decentralized, defined as not being owned by a single entity. It is resistant to data modification, since recorded data is hard to alter or delete. The technology is emerging as a solution for verifying a surge of content generated by artificial intelligence (AI).

MultiversX CMO Adam Bates said that committed public-private initiatives to drive blockchain adoption with forward-thinking approaches are propelling the growth prospect of the high-tech economy.

Also of note is the country’s businesses and consumers being open to new technologies, as evidenced by Korean won trading in cryptocurrency exceeding that in U.S. dollars for the first quarter this year.

“Korea is among the leading regions in digital innovation with values that are in direct alignment with our mission to deliver a scalable infrastructure on which intuitive solutions are built,” he said in an interview with The Korea Times.

He came to Korea to attend Blockchain Week Busan 2024 from Oct. 28 to 29. It was organized for leading global digital exchanges to share vision and goals to advance blockchain-mediated innovative city planning and the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs).

Launched at the event was Asian Exchange Alliance, an alliance of digital asset exchanges. Among them are Japan's Open Digital Exchange (ODX), Singapore's Asia Digital Assets Exchange (ADDX), Malaysia's Green Exchange (GreenX), Thailand's Token Exchange (TokenX) and Cambodia's Mekong Digital Exchange (MKEX).

“Korea has a collective ambition to accelerate blockchain adoption to benefit the whole country and the wider APAC region rather than an individual or single country," Bates said. "The new Asian Exchange Alliance announced at Busan is a great example. A year ago, the idea was announced. This year, it is live."

Scalability

MultiversX claims that it is the most scalable blockchain network in the world.

Scalability refers to the capability to handle an increasing amount of work for growth, while maintaining efficiency without compromising performance or security.

The firm uses what the industry calls “sharding” whereby a network and blockchain are split into shards to increase network speed and security.

“For example, we currently have 77,000 transactions per second, which is 1,200 times faster than Ethereum Max. We can increase the transaction processing capacity of any Layer 2 solution by 100 times.”

In simple terms, improved performance of Layer 2 solutions means more transactions per second handled, leading in turn to faster and cheaper transactions. Layer 2 solutions aim primarily to improve scalability and speed, whereas Layer 1, the main blockchain protocol, is for security and foundational functions.

“Our Sovereign Chain technology means anyone can combine the superpowers from any and all chains to create something amazing. What we have built is for the benefit of all blockchains. Only by sharing this technology do we believe blockchain will achieve mass adoption.”

The highly jargon-heavy and technical description carries significance, because the scalability of such competence can help verify so-called “fake” AI contents.

“The insane amount of power and computing AI needs, only a blockchain network with robust scalability is able to accommodate and validate all the data it produces at speed. Between 25 percent and 44 percent of all AI content is hallucination, so if you want to know what is true or not, you need a blockchain to check it — but only one that can do it at speed.”

xDay Global

The blockchain firm chose Korea as a venue to host xDay Global 2025, an event it called the “G20 of Web3.” It held a similar event last week in Munich, Germany.

Web3, the next generation of the internet, seeks to create a more open, transparent and user-oriented internet, enabled by decentralized control through blockchain. It aims to resolve the drawbacks of the current Web2 model whereby platforms are owned by centralized entities.

“We can bring together leaders who can explore avenues of enhancing blockchain integration, establishing trust and expanding the potential of Web3 in Korea and beyond," he said. "This is why we are bringing the event to Korea.”

The previous event in Germany was a satellite gathering with a developer and community focus.

“Germany's reputation as a leader in building world-class, robust technology, combined with its deep industry connections, was a point of attraction," he said. "Korea’s high standard for technology is what makes it a prime venue.”

The firm says next year’s event will help raise awareness of MultiversX, grow the whole blockchain market and ecosystem as well as unite all the blockchains for the benefit of all.

“We have created the perfect island nobody really knows about. We want to grow the pie rather than fight for a bigger slice of the same pie," he said. "Events like xDay Global are perfect opportunities for us to take visionaries, thought leaders and digital innovators to this island to shape the industry's future.”

Partnerships

The firm is in search of partnerships with government bodies and large market players in Korea.

“The government can change policies and allocate resources to achieve dramatic changes and advancements at speed," he said. "They can also support education by supporting programs to train and incentivize people to play and build with blockchain.”

Working with established players allows for user feedback.

“We’ve been talking to innovative exchanges like Bdan and its CEO Kim Sang-min, with whom we hope to partner," he said. "Big corporations are essential if we want to make blockchain mainstream.”

Bdan is short for Busan Digital Asset Nexus, the official brand name of the Busan Digital Asset Exchange, announced Oct. 28 at the Busan event.

Bdan signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire CenGold, a blockchain-based digital goods trading platform with a transaction volume of 1.1 trillion won ($797 million) thus far and 1.18 million users.

CenGold trades in seven types of precious and non-ferrous metals, including gold, silver and copper. Bdan plans to expand the trading portfolio to include a variety of RWAs.

"We are looking forward to strengthening our presence in Korea and beyond," Bates said. "Blockchain has to become as essential to our daily life as the internet. Soon, we'll be asking ourselves, ‘How did we live without it before?’"