FactBlock kicked off the main conference of KBW2026 with Upbit on September 30 at Walkerhill Hotel & Resort in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. Across the entire event, 330 speakers—including 290 at the main conference and 40 at the Upbit Institutional Summit—will participate in 120 sessions running through October 1.
With Upbit joining as Presenting Partner, the main conference focused on key agenda items including institutional entry into the digital asset market, on-chain finance, stablecoins, and the convergence of AI and Web3. Across three stages—0G, Stable, and BitGo—the program covers capital market tokenization, institutional digital asset infrastructure, practical payment applications for stablecoins, and the AI agent economy.
In his opening keynote speech, FactBlock CEO Wi-ik Park presented institutional market entry, legislative progress, and artificial intelligence as major turning points for the industry. He explained that as institutional participation grows, the market's focus is expanding beyond asset trading to issuance, custody, payment, and rights management, requiring collaboration among financial institutions, technology companies, legal and accounting experts, and infrastructure providers.
Dunamu CEO Oh Kyoung-suk highlighted the connection between Korea's digital asset market and global on-chain finance. Citing access to global capital, Korean won connectivity, and the export potential of locally proven technology and infrastructure as key conditions, he stated, "Based on infrastructure verified in Korea, our country can also advance as a global digital financial hub."
Arthur Hayes, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of Maelstrom, unveiled FLOP, a currency and payment network for AI agents. The concept involves rewarding participants who provide GPU compute resources with tokens, which AI agents then use to purchase computing power and transact services with one another.
Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum and Chairman and CEO of MetaMask, outlined a strategy to expand MetaMask into a new financial operating system (OS). He explained plans to evolve it beyond a crypto wallet into a platform encompassing stablecoins and tokenized equities.
Tom Lee, Chairman of Bitmine, projected financial asset tokenization and institutional capital inflows as key growth drivers for the digital asset market. "I believe this crypto cycle will be the largest cycle in history," he said, emphasizing Ethereum's long-term growth potential.
The event speakers also include Jeff Yan, CEO of Hyperliquid Labs; Johann Kerbrat, Senior Vice President and GM of Crypto at Robinhood; Yuval Rooz, co-founder and CEO of Canton; Mike Belshe, co-founder and CEO of BitGo; and Bo Hines, CEO of Tether USA. Tickets for KBW2026 sold out on September 28, prior to the event's opening.
KBW2026 runs through October 1, starting with the invitation-only Upbit Institutional Summit on September 29. FactBlock plans to support discussions during the event among policymakers, financial institutions, and tech companies on the necessary conditions for real business adoption, and facilitate ongoing practical consultations and joint verification afterwards.
