Ahead of the Incorporation of Virtual Assets into the Institutional System…Financial Companies and Large Corporations 'Compete for Dominance'

Ahead of the incorporation of virtual assets into the institutional system…Financial companies and large corporations 'compete for dominance'

Alliances and mergers centered on the three major fronts: stablecoins, tokenized securities, and custody

Partnerships are active, but core technologies rely on overseas solutions

An analysis suggests that ahead of the full-scale incorporation of virtual assets into the institutional system, including the introduction of KRW stablecoins, financial companies, large corporations, and even foreign companies are building cooperative relationships with virtual asset firms, engaging in a battle for dominance.

Tiger Research, a Web3 specialized research firm, announced on the 1st that it published a report with these findings after tracking and analyzing 196 cooperative relationships involving 150 institutions that have entered the domestic virtual asset market.

The competition for dominance in the virtual asset market is unfolding around three major fronts: stablecoins, tokenized securities (STO), and custody, with multiple companies simultaneously building their respective camps.

The report noted that in the stablecoin market, where no single operator holds clear dominance, credit card companies, exchanges, fintech firms, and infrastructure companies are entering the market through different paths, each leveraging their unique strengths.

In the stablecoin market, Kakao, Shinhan Card, and virtual asset exchange Dunamu are busy establishing their respective camps, but at this point, they are all blocked by the same regulatory wall.

It further predicted that after guidelines for KRW stablecoin issuers are released, the camp that has secured the most extensive public contact points will seize market dominance.

The domestic STO market is divided into a Koscom-centric consortium and a Shinhan Investment & Securities-centric fractional investment alliance, while Mirae Asset Securities [006800] has chosen an independent path, utilizing overseas bases in Hong Kong and the United States.

In the custody market, Korea Digital Asset (KODA), Korea Digital Asset Custody (KDAC), BDACS, BitGo Korea, and others have each secured domestic and international financial institutions and technology partners.

Additionally, virtual asset exchanges are being re-evaluated as crucial customer contact platforms where stablecoin, STO, and real-world asset (RWA) products are distributed, leading to a pre-emptive competition to secure market share.

Tiger Research also pointed out a structural limitation: while domestic companies have established business structures, the core technological infrastructure required to execute these businesses largely relies on overseas solutions.