A thread!
I believe South Korea might be the first to see real *MASSIVE* mainstream consumer adoption of crypto.
There are many things people don't know about crypto in South Korea, and I will be working on more threads about crypto in Asia in the future.
👇 (1/10)
I believe South Korea might be the first to see real *MASSIVE* mainstream consumer adoption of crypto.
There are many things people don't know about crypto in South Korea, and I will be working on more threads about crypto in Asia in the future.
👇 (1/10)
First, let's look at pure retail consumer adoption.
South Korea has tens of thousands of convenience stores nationwide.
Like Taiwan and Japan, convenience stores are absolutely massive in Korea.
Users can pay crypto at 13,500 CU convenience stores in South Korea.
(2/10)
South Korea has tens of thousands of convenience stores nationwide.
Like Taiwan and Japan, convenience stores are absolutely massive in Korea.
Users can pay crypto at 13,500 CU convenience stores in South Korea.
(2/10)
How is this gigantic convenience chain accepting crypto?
The firm/blockchain in the middle of this is Terra.
Terra is a payments firm co-founded by e-commerce giant Tmon creator Shin Hyunseung.
Terra has a blockchain and payments app Chai, which major retailers accept.
(3/10)
The firm/blockchain in the middle of this is Terra.
Terra is a payments firm co-founded by e-commerce giant Tmon creator Shin Hyunseung.
Terra has a blockchain and payments app Chai, which major retailers accept.
(3/10)
The brilliance of using Chai as the partner for all these major retailers, like CU, is that they aren’t directly integrating crypto assets like $BTC or $ETH.
They are integrating Chai, which accepts crypto assets, so companies like CU do not have any major problems.
(4/10)
They are integrating Chai, which accepts crypto assets, so companies like CU do not have any major problems.
(4/10)
Yanolja is the biggest hotel booking platform in South Korea with over 1 million users.
Yanolja also integrated Chai in September 2019, which means users can pay crypto to book rooms on Yanolja.
So it's possible to live off of crypto in Korea, unlike most countries.
(5/10)
Yanolja also integrated Chai in September 2019, which means users can pay crypto to book rooms on Yanolja.
So it's possible to live off of crypto in Korea, unlike most countries.
(5/10)
South Korea’s most famous star chef Choi Hyun Suk’s restaurant also accepts crypto as payment.
This is a direct partnership with a blockchain company with a specialized cryptocurrency, so I won’t mention the name.
And, this is becoming a trend.
zdnet.co.kr/view/?no=20190…
(6/10)
This is a direct partnership with a blockchain company with a specialized cryptocurrency, so I won’t mention the name.
And, this is becoming a trend.
zdnet.co.kr/view/?no=20190…
(6/10)
Many prominent investment firms have shown interest in the potential of massive consumer crypto adoption in South Korea.
Binance Labs, OKEx, Huobi Capital, Dunamu, Polychain Capital, FBG Capital, Hashed, ArringtonXRP Capital invested in Terra.
(7/10)
Binance Labs, OKEx, Huobi Capital, Dunamu, Polychain Capital, FBG Capital, Hashed, ArringtonXRP Capital invested in Terra.
(7/10)
But, there is a roadblock.
The sentiment around crypto in general in South Korea remains gloomy.
People are opening to Bitcoin more, but the pain of 2017 is still there.
The retail volume is pretty much dead in South Korea too [a tweet thread is coming this week].
(8/10)
The sentiment around crypto in general in South Korea remains gloomy.
People are opening to Bitcoin more, but the pain of 2017 is still there.
The retail volume is pretty much dead in South Korea too [a tweet thread is coming this week].
(8/10)
One positive development is that the shady exchanges in South Korea subsided.
There are now about 10 major exchanges operating in Korea. The crypto exchange landscape is simpler and much better regulated.
So if retail frenzy begins, overall confidence will be higher.
(9/10)
There are now about 10 major exchanges operating in Korea. The crypto exchange landscape is simpler and much better regulated.
So if retail frenzy begins, overall confidence will be higher.
(9/10)
I’ll be writing more about crypto in Asia through tweet threads and also on my newsletter. For the full article, read below!
alphaalarm.substack.com/p/deep-dive-wh…
(10/10)
alphaalarm.substack.com/p/deep-dive-wh…
(10/10)
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