Charles Hoskinson, co-founder of the ethereum blockchain and CEO of Input Output, is setting his sights on South Korea as a hub for the next wave of innovation combining blockchain and artificial intelligence — technologies he believes can bring immense benefits to both the public and industry.

During his recent visit to Seoul, Hoskinson met with tech leaders and industry stakeholders to explore collaboration opportunities. He praised the South Korean government’s plan to create a 100 trillion won (about $70 billion) fund for AI investment, expressing strong interest in contributing to the country’s ambitious vision.

“Several projects in Korea excite us greatly, and we see enormous potential for blockchain to intersect with them,” said Hoskinson in an interview with The Korea Herald. “There’s tremendous opportunity for blockchain and AI to work together for the benefit of the people.”

Hoskinson emphasized that blockchain could be a game-changer for Korea’s manufacturing, supply chain and electronics industries — driving greater transparency, efficiency and innovation across key sectors of the economy.

Hoskinson believes that rising geopolitical tensions between China and the US, in particular, have made supply chains less accessible than before; that is where blockchain can provide transparency and innovation in tracking raw components and diversifying supply chains.

“Samsung, a pioneer, even ships every Galaxy phone with a Knox-based blockchain wallet,” he said.

Samsung introduced a cryptocurrency wallet with the Galaxy S10 in 2019, supporting major tokens like bitcoin and ethereum. The wallet is secured by Samsung’s Knox platform, with private keys stored in the isolated Samsung Blockchain Keystore.

“Korea’s crypto market is efficient to navigate, with about 25 dominant companies — four controlling 90 percent of the market. That makes a short trip extremely productive,” said Hoskinson, assessing the Korean market’s blockchain technology for efficiency and innovation.

“Korea’s market is part of a larger Asian ‘family’ with Japan and Singapore, though unique dynamics like the Kimchi Premium still exist. Adoption has grown massively, and evolving regulation around taxes and digital assets is providing greater clarity and consumer protection,” he said, noting the broader Asian ecosystem.

He applauded the recent regulatory progress in Korea.

The Virtual Asset User Protection Act, which came into effect in July 2024, emphasizes user protection and regulatory compliance. However, the act is still criticized for leaving significant segments of the industry largely unregulated.

In June 2025, Korea advanced its digital asset regulations by passing the Digital Asset Basic Act. Once fully implemented, industry experts predict DABA will complement VAUPA and clarify licensing, reserve and operational requirements for stablecoin issuers and other digital asset businesses, addressing both payment potential and systemic risk concerns.

“This is extraordinary progress. It’s encouraging to see that globally — in the United States, Korea and other countries — we’ve collectively turned a page and are back to innovating in the industry rather than over-regulating it,” he said.

Asked about his vision for blockchain, Hoskinson said that blockchain should be framed as faster money, safer money, less fraud, instant global transfer of value, and better tools for entrepreneurs.

“Open-source, decentralized systems prevent monopolies, protect privacy and give consumers ownership of their data,” he said, describing his latest project, Midnight, as a transformative platform for blockchain consumption.

“Midnight focuses on consumption rather than ownership. Korean partners can lease services without holding tokens. This provides governments and corporates a ‘free pass’ to experiment with blockchain solutions in privacy, identity and compliance.”

Hoskinson envisions blockchain converging with artificial intelligence, health care and government technology to drive real-world impact.

“Stablecoins, health care, and GovTech (government technology) are big opportunities. Midnight bridges privacy with compliance, enabling safe, regulated stablecoin use. In health care, blockchain can protect data, secure clinical trials and improve patient outcomes,” he said.

According to Hoskinson, Korea’s crypto ecosystem is robust and highly structured, strengthened by regulations such as the Act on Reporting and Use of Certain Financial Transaction Information and DABA.

The CFTIA mandates that foreign virtual asset service providers serving Koreans must report transactions affecting Korea to the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit.

“Korea is a phenomenal market for cryptocurrency, with more than 15 million holders —over 30 percent of the population,” according to Hoskinson.

“Major players such as Samsung and SK are also leading global projects in AI, which could engage millions of users,” he said.

But when asked about accountability in crypto, Hoskinson stressed a decentralized approach.

“People think: ‘If something goes wrong, I want someone to put in jail.’ But decentralized protocols don’t work that way. True accountability comes through compliance, custody standards and blockchain-based disclosure — not by centralizing the industry.”

“Partnerships build trust, trust builds cooperation and cooperation leads to innovation and real solutions. Blockchain should be the invisible trust layer for economic, political and social systems,” he said.

Hoskinson is an American entrepreneur and mathematician, best known as the co-founder of ethereum. He currently leads the blockchain engineering company Input Output (IO), which developed the Cardano blockchain platform. Born in Hawaii, he studied mathematics at Metropolitan State University of Denver and the University of Colorado Boulder. Hoskinson began his career in consulting before leaving in 2013 to pursue cryptocurrency.

sanjaykumar@heraldcorp.com