The CHOSUNBIZ '2025 Cryptocurrency Conference' themed 'Trump 2.0, the Renaissance of cryptocurrency opens' concluded with great enthusiasm. The event, the largest cryptocurrency conference in the country, attracted more than 400 attendees from politics, industry, and academia, who shared various opinions on the changes expected in the cryptocurrency market following the inauguration of Donald Trump's second administration in the United States, the direction of regulations, and new investment opportunities.
At this conference, Kim Seo-jun, CEO of the blockchain investment firm Hashed, served as the keynote speaker, drawing the audience's attention. Kim is considered one of the 'celebrities' representing the global cryptocurrency market. He delivered his keynote speech on the topic 'The government governs the physical world, and blockchain dominates the digital world.'
Kim noted, “As artificial intelligence (AI) advances and the digital world expands, it becomes an essential task to create governance, with differing interests among governments, corporations, and technologies.” He added, “It will be difficult to address these challenges without blockchain.”
He emphasized that the expansion of the digital world does not solely have positive aspects. A few big tech companies dominate the digital territory, and AI is also developing in a biased manner driven by the needs of certain corporations or capital. He asserted, “Blockchain will be utilized as a means to prevent the monopolization of specific capital in the digital world and to establish desirable governance.”
Raza Jaidi, Chief Strategy Officer of the blockchain firm Scroll, delivered the second keynote speech. He stated, “Stablecoins (cryptocurrencies linked to fiat currencies) will serve as the link between decentralized finance and traditional finance,” adding that if regulations are eased under the Trump administration, they are likely to receive significant attention for their stability and utility.
The following morning lecture was held under the theme 'The competition for dominance in the cryptocurrency market and policies.' Kim Gap-rae, Senior Research Fellow at the Capital Markets Research Institute, Justin Kim, Asia head at the Japanese blockchain firm Avalanche, and Kim Dong-seop, Head of Team at the Bank of Korea, were the speakers.
Kim Gap-rae, who lectured on 'The digital asset market policies and implications of the Trump administration,' predicted, “In the Trump 2.0 administration, the regulation of cryptocurrencies will become clearer and the market's predictability will increase.” He explained, “In the past, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) excessively expanded the interpretation of the concept of securities and imposed administrative actions on cryptocurrency corporations, but now the regulatory landscape is changing into clear legislative attempts.”
Justin Kim presented on the topic 'Blockchain redefining the essence of finance.' He pointed out that, in the United States, tokenized money market funds (MMFs) that private equity funds and general corporations join are rapidly growing under SEC approval, while in Korea, the system and regulations are not properly established, causing slower development of the blockchain industry.
Kim Dong-seop, Head of Team, explained the central bank digital currency (CBDC) project that the Bank of Korea is promoting. He mentioned, “The Bank of Korea is jointly conducting usability tests for the CBDC with the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service,” adding that they are preparing real transaction tests where the public can make purchases using deposit tokens to expand the financial infrastructure for institutional CBDC.
The afternoon lecture was held under the theme 'The changing landscape and investment in the cryptocurrency market.' Joo Gi-young, CEO of cryptocurrency analytics firm CryptoQuant, and Goran, CEO of the YouTube channel 'Al Gorant,' took the stage, while Rahel Advani, policy head for Ripple in the Asia-Pacific region, delivered a lecture via video.
Joo analyzed that while Bitcoin's price surged significantly after former President Trump's election in November of last year, it is still not easy to consider it overheated. He mentioned, “Based on the money that has flowed into the market, it could be analyzed that 'this is the ceiling.' Currently, considering the total amount of capital, the ceiling price for Bitcoin can be calculated at $161,000.” He sees the possibility of an additional increase of more than 60%, given that the current price is at the $100,000 level.
Joo concluded, “In conclusion, it seems like we are in the midst of a bull market,” explaining that “this is mainly because individual investors in the exchanges are still fewer than expected.”
Goran, who runs the YouTube channel 'Easy Economic News with Goran TV,' which has 100,000 subscribers and focuses on cryptocurrency, forecasted that more investment opportunities would emerge in the Trump 2.0 administration. He also claimed that while Bitcoin has a duality as both a safe asset and a risky asset, it will eventually establish itself as the true 'digital gold.'
However, Goran noted that regarding altcoins (cryptocurrencies excluding Bitcoin), “the volatility is high, so investors should be cautious,” adding that “especially as Ethereum, which leads both altcoins and decentralized finance, has not been performing well, the DeFi market is also experiencing sluggishness.”