Terry Kim: The Future of Institutional Crypto at KBW2025

[applause] [music] Hello and good morning everyone. As Koreans, we've always punched above our weight in pop culture, in ship building, and now in crypto trading. A nation known for building harbors for the world's ships is now building a financial harbor for the world. One that is safe, trusted, and ready for institutions. The nation you're sitting in today accounts for 15 to 20% of global currency, cryptocurrency volume alone.

We are a nation of just millions in people, but we are moving billions in crypto. We are a nation smaller than California, but while they have Hollywood, we have Halu, the Korean wave, and of course K-pop demon hunters. And while K-pop gave us the soundtracks, Kdrama gave us the story, K Crypto will give us the future. Hi, my name is Terry Kim. I am the co-founder and chief strategy officer of BAX.

BDAC stands for beyond digital asset custody service. A financial harbor integrated for institutional clients and for beyond delivering prime custody for the digital future. Now, I mentioned K-pop and Kdrama earlier, and please don't worry, I'm not going to sing or act for you today. That's a different event. I certainly won't win your hearts with my singing.

I can assure you that. But I will win your heads with why this next institutional digital asset wave matters, why Korea is ready to lead it, and why BDAX has chosen this event as the perfect place to make that case because institutions are coming, billions are moving and the future is institution ready. The only question is who will you trust to hold your keys? At Bedex, we built the answer. And that's why we're here today at Korea Blockchain Week 2025 to officially go beyond borders and introduce BDAX to the world.

Now, for those of you who don't know my former life, um me, Terry Kim, was a senior partner at Leen Co., one of Korea's most respected law firms. So, yes, I graduated from Legal Eagle to the blockchain domain. Some called it a risk to leave law for liquidity. I didn't.

Stepping into custody wasn't a gamble for me. It was a conviction. The future of finance needed infrastructure strong enough for institutions and someone had to build it. People like us with experience of contracts, accountability and trust. You know, when my parents first opened their bank accounts, the branch manager was sometimes seen as a family elder.

There was trust. There was ceremony. Today, our children open digital wallets on their phones with a swipe and a smile. No ceremony, just curiosity and confidence. And now, nearly half of Korea's investing population already own digital assets.

Until now, it's been all retail. But in 2025, everything is changing. The 10-year ban on institutional investment is ending. The Digital Asset Basic Act, a landmark legislation, is expected to pass this year. Doors are opening and regulated custody has become a reality.

But what does all this mean for us? Well, spot Bitcoin ETFs are being built. Korean denominated stable coins are about to soar. And real name institutional accounts are not just possible. They're becoming accessible.

And here's the truth. Digital asset firms can earn the same level of trust as traditional banks, but only if we meet the same standards of trust. Trust needs rails. Regulation is what lays them. And Korea right now is laying those rails at scale.

That's why BEX was born here in Korea at this moment. Because we are unlocking doors and rewriting the rules. The only question remains. Who will you will you be one of its authors? Let me share more on BEX.

Bex is built on three core themes. First, we operate like a financial institution. We provide prime custody service and we go beyond. That's why Worry Bank has chosen us as their exclusive partner. It's why first mover names who are in this very room today like Galaxy, GKA, Avalanche, Poly Mesh, and Ripple all already with us and more are joining every month.

Now let's pause on that second theme. Prime custody. because we use that word custody quite a bit already. Prime custody is how you turn raw liquidity into usable usable flows, executable, compliant, and auditable. The internet has transformed how information flowed, digital assets are transforming how we store and move value.

And just as the early web needed standards and servers, crypto needs infrastructure and trust. I talked about building a harbor earlier. Prime custody is the walls of that harbor. It keeps asses safe and sheltered while connecting clients to the open sea of global markets. Prime custody is the next layer of the internet's financial structure.

We keep assets safe. We connect you to the markets and we ensure that the numbers make sense. It's not just custody. It is the foundation for the future of global finance. Our prime custody includes first multi-asset custody, hot, cold, MPC, but all wrapped in compliance so that your CIO can act boldly and your risk officer can still rest at night.

Second, fiat on and off ramp. Seamless access to US denominated stable coins and shortly in the future Korean one denominated stable coins. Robust KYC and AML compliance rule-based approvals and cutoff policies that match how traditional banks already work. Third, global market access. We set the guardrails for deploying digital assets to CFI, DeFi, and OTC desk within Korea and internationally.

So you can route to price and flow, limit counterparty risk, and all without the compliance heartburn. Fourth, passive yield. Idle balances are lazy balances. We put them to work through institutional grade staking and yield for digital assets. And fifth, finally, robust reporting APIs, audit ready APIs for compliance, risk, and accounting teams, independent assurance matters.

That's why we operate with segregated accounts, external penetration test, external penetration testing, and thirdparty audits. To sum up, prime custody is vaults, rails, and dashboard. And that is BAX. Prime custody is live. It's running.

And it's what BEX is ready to offer Korea for the first time. That's the difference between slideware and actual infrastructure. But what about the future? That's our third theme, beyond. By 2030, Korea's digital asset market is projected to be over 121 billion US.

And stable coin custody demands could exceed over 36 billion. And that's why prime custody matters. BEX is building that horizon to turn liquidity into usable flows, executable, compliant, and auditable safely and at scale. So when you hear BDAX, don't just think custody. Think bridge.

Beyond geography, beyond asset classes, beyond expectations. So why BEX? Why not 10 different custodians? Because Korea doesn't need 10 custodians. It needs one trusted leader, compliant, connected, and built for institutions.

That's why we be that's why we built BDAX ahead of regulation, standing shouldertosh shoulder with banks designed from the start for institutions. That's why Worry Bank chose us as their exclusive custody partner because institutions already know the truth. Custody isn't really about who holds your keys. It's about who you trust to unlock your business. That's what BEX is built to do.

Built for you. So, choose a hard drive. Choose a harbor. Choose BEX. To sum up, Korea is no longer playing catch-up.

It's leading in regulation, in technology, and in the market. Institutional capital is coming. Regulation is settling. Liquidity is flowing. And the rails are ready.

Pedex is live, regulated, bank integrated, ready to lead this new chapter. So if you're a fund, a bank, fintech, issuer looking to grow in Asia, start in Korea. And if you're serious about Korea, start with BAX. As I close, I'd like to leave you with three thoughts. First, Korea is now at the epicenter of the digital asset revolution.

Two, BEX is the first custodian in Korea built to institutional standards, standing shouldertosh shoulder with banks and exchanges. And finally, our prime custody built by people from law, banking, and technology is how we take clients beyond what's possible today. The future won't wait. 1% of the world's population is already writing it. Imagine what would happen if you could join us.

Come write it in with us. BDAX, the regulated financial institution delivering prime custody for the digital future and beyond. Thank you. [applause]

[applause]

Now, I'd like to invite my co-founder and long-term partner, Harry, instrumental in building BDX to the category leader that is today. Please join me in welcoming Harry to the stage. [applause] Thank you, T. Uh from this point I will continue in Korean. Uh for We have blockchain .

Fore! Foreign! Foreign! Catalyst blockchain. for KW stable coin.

catalyst. Smart network. Smart network. for Smart Network. for blockchain.

Fore! Foreign! Foreign! blockchain. for catalyst.

Smart network. We beyond paradigm. [applause]