[On-site] "Stablecoins will be used like autonomous vehicles"… Financial investment experts discuss the direction of Web3 financial transformation

DSRV at the “DeSeRVe All 2026” event held at the Conrad Seoul Hotel on the 29th featured a roundtable discussion after the opening keynote speech, bringing together experts in finance and investment. Moderated by Seoul University Professor Lee Jong-sup, participants included Kakao Pay Securities Investment General Manager Vice President Lim Young, Gwangju Bank Digital Future Division Director Song Seok-hyeon, DSRV Co-Representative Seo Byeong-ryun, Cyonic AI Representative Go Sook-hyeon, and Intervest Chief Examiner Lee Ho-keun. The theme was singular: how various industries will generate profits on the blockchain-based financial infrastructure proposed by DSRV.

“Stablecoins, the seed to disrupt the entire financial system”

First to speak was Kakao Pay Securities Vice President Lim Young. He expressed caution about viewing stablecoins merely as a payment method. “The reason the current financial system has become so complex is fundamentally because cash flow is too difficult,” he explained, citing the net settlement practice in stock trading as an example. If you buy 10 shares of Microsoft and sell 10 shares, the current system performs a net settlement, only paying the difference; but if atomic transactions based on stablecoins are introduced, each transaction would be completed independently and in real-time. He stated, “In that case, net settlement itself would lose its meaning.”

Vice President Lim defined stablecoins as “not just a means of payment settlement, but a revolutionary seed that will overturn the entire financial system,” and pointed out that the current domestic push for STO policies or closed-network approaches narrows the potential of blockchain to just “distributed ledger replacement.” His definition is: “Blockchain is the process of transforming the entire financial system into a massive open-source code library.”

Practical considerations of local banks — starting with remittances by foreign workers

Gwangju Bank Director Song Seok-hyeon analyzed the real needs of on-chain finance from the perspective of local financial institutions. The Gwangju-Jeonnam region has approximately 220k to 270k individual business owners and a large number of seasonal foreign workers. “What these people have been struggling with is trade settlements and overseas remittances,” he said, adding, “The issue of foreign workers’ wages is directly related to stablecoins.”

However, regulatory barriers are a real issue. Director Song acknowledged that due to foreign exchange laws, anti-money laundering regulations, and other factors, banks have limited scope for autonomous action. Nonetheless, he stated that “within the legal framework, we are gradually preparing for commercialization,” and mentioned the possibility of collaboration with DSRV. He also highlighted the necessity of introducing digital identity verification for foreign workers. Currently, opening non-face-to-face accounts requires a foreigner login certificate, which short-term residents like seasonal workers often cannot obtain.

“Just like autonomous vehicles, blockchain finance is inevitable”

DSRV Co-Representative Seo Byeong-ryun compared the future penetration of stablecoins to autonomous vehicles. “In 10 or 20 years, legislation might prohibit human driving because AI driving technology is the best,” he explained. “The same applies to stablecoins,” he added. “Using the internet as a financial network is cheaper and more convenient, and one day, people will have no reason to insist on using the existing infrastructure.” He further commented, “Look at the trends in Silicon Valley and Wall Street—this direction is almost certain.”

AI agents and stablecoins — a new payment demand

Cyonic AI Representative Go Sook-hyeon focused on the emerging payment needs brought about by AI agents as economic entities. When AI agents between companies conduct transactions, responsibility attribution and payment processing will transcend current B2B, B2C, and C2C categories. “Just as AI-created works are not recognized as copyrighted, how to treat AI as an economic entity is another level of discussion,” he emphasized the need for institutional debate.

Web3 commercialization priorities from an investor’s perspective

Intervest Chief Examiner Lee Ho-keun proposed a sequence for on-chain commercialization from an investor’s viewpoint. He analyzed the payment market by dividing it along B2B, B2C, and C2C axes, as well as by domestic demand, developed countries, and emerging markets, emphasizing: “Start commercialization in regions with the least developed infrastructure and greatest pain points, as the survival probability is higher.” He also revealed that since investing in DSRV, he has coordinated business directions monthly via conference calls.

He identified the issuance of Korean won stablecoins and the foreign tourist payment market in Korea as promising initial commercialization areas. He also referenced the case of Singapore’s StraitsX collaborating with Alipay and Grab to build a Singapore dollar stablecoin payment infrastructure.

Professor Lee Jong-sup concluded the discussion by stating, “The level of discussion about stablecoins now is significantly different from one or two years ago,” and emphasized, “The key is ultimately to permeate the economic ecosystem in a way that consumers can feel the utility.”