Upbit D Conference explores how to bridge crypto with real world

Dunamu, the operator of South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, hosted the Upbit D Conference on Thursday, discussing how blockchain technology can bring changes into the real world.

This year’s event, in its seventh edition, was held under the title of "Blockchain: Powering Real World Change."

“Blockchain is no longer an invisible technology. Just a few years ago, blockchain was considered unfamiliar and complex, but now we can see that perceptions in Korea have significantly changed,” Dunamu Chairman Song Chi-hyung said in his opening speech.

“As a leading company in digital assets and fintech, Dunamu will continue to spearhead the development of the blockchain sector, a key industry of the future.”

Michael Casey, former chief content officer at CoinDesk, delivered a keynote speech, addressing how the price of bitcoin had surged to its highest ever $93,000 following Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election.

"We are seeing the immediate response in terms of how people feel as if the new administration coming into the US is going to remove a lot of the regulatory barriers," Casey said.

"But we need to be thinking about the long-term implications and the current policy framework. There are still big questions as to whether the Trump administration is going to be constructive in the long run for everything that we care about in this space."

A panel discussion led by Keith O'Callaghan, head of Asset Management & Structuring at London-based digital asset exchange Archax Capital Limited, followed. The panel discussed how the boundaries between digital and real-world assets can be blurred through investment vehicles such as exchange-traded funds.

“Traditional banking institutions have to join hands with crypto-native firms,” said Alex Kim, director of digital asset security at blockchain infrastructure provider Blockdaemon.

“To this day, traditional banking institutions are yet to fully understand the nature of digital assets,” he said, highlighting the need for the institutions to develop a skill set to deal with new assets through cooperation.

More sessions followed, inviting industry officials and experts from around the world to the stage. The speakers included Ross Edwards, senior director of global financial institutions at Ripple, Keith Yeo, head of the Asia-Pacific region at crypto market data provider Kaiko, Jeong Jae-uk, deputy vice president at Hana Bank, and more.

Sascha Rowold, an executive adviser at LVMH, participated in the event as well, delivering a lecture on why luxury brands are using blockchain to enhance the consumer experience and how they are working to leverage the blockchain for provenance management.