WDAF 2026 brings global finance leaders to Seoul

Standard Chartered, Tether, Sygnum and other industry players to explore tokenization, digital payments and future of finance

Global banking and digital asset leaders will gather in Seoul on Monday for Herald Media Group's inaugural World Digital Assets Forum, where they will explore how blockchain technology, tokenized assets and digital currencies are reshaping the global financial system.

Held under the theme "The New Financial Architecture" at The Grand Lotte Seoul, the forum will focus on three major shifts in finance: the tokenization of real-world assets, corporate digital asset treasury strategies and the transformation of global payments.

Naveen Mallela, global head of payments at Standard Chartered Bank, will deliver the keynote address on how tokenization is breaking down barriers between traditional banking and digital finance, potentially redefining the role of banks.

Mallela previously served as global co-head of Kinexys, JPMorgan Chase's blockchain business, before joining Standard Chartered in May.

Don Tapscott, co-founder and executive chairman of the Blockchain Research Institute, will discuss the transformation of assets in the new technology order.

Paolo Ardoino, co-founder and CEO of stablecoin issuer Tether, will deliver an opening video message on the opportunities stablecoins could bring to global finance.

Sagar Shah, chief business officer at Evernorth, will examine the expanding digital asset ecosystem surrounding XRP and strategies for institutional and corporate digital asset management. Formerly a senior director of stablecoins at Ripple, Shah is helping lead Evernorth's efforts to pursue a Nasdaq listing.

Rania Rahardja, senior director for Asia-Pacific at Ondo Finance, will discuss the growing adoption of tokenized traditional financial assets, including US Treasuries, in a morning fireside chat.

In the afternoon, Gerald Goh, co-founder of digital asset bank Sygnum and CEO of Sygnum APAC, will explore how digital assets are reshaping private wealth management.

Cybersecurity will also feature prominently amid growing concerns over hacking threats and the long-term security of digital assets.

Felix Eigelshoven, managing director and head of Asia-Pacific at digital asset security firm DFNS, will examine the potential threats quantum computing poses to digital assets and the technologies being developed to address them.

The forum will also feature panel discussions covering real-world asset tokenization, digital asset treasury management and digital payments.

Two sessions on real-world asset tokenization will examine how traditional financial assets can be brought onto blockchain networks and what regulatory and technological frameworks are needed to support broader adoption.

Speakers include Lee Yong-jae, head of the digital asset business department at Mirae Asset Securities; Gabriel Gareth Foo, DeFi growth lead at Securitize; Christie Chan, director for digital assets, corporate and institutional banking at HSBC; Ashfaq Shaik, executive vice president of engineering and digital assets at Broadridge; Niki Ariyasinghe, vice president for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East at Chainlink Labs; and Justin Kim, vice president of international business development at Ava Labs.

The digital asset treasury session will explore how companies are incorporating cryptocurrencies into their balance sheets, managing market volatility and addressing institutional investment and custody needs.

Panelists include Sagar Desai, Asia-Pacific head of wholesale at Coinbase Institutional; Eric Ko, chief strategy officer at Korea Digital Asset Custody; and CJ Fong, Asia-Pacific general manager at GSR.

Two payment sessions will examine how stablecoins and blockchain-based infrastructure are transforming money transfers, settlement and cross-border transactions.

Speakers include Fabian Khoshbakht, BNY's Asia-Pacific head of global payments and trade; Jinnie Lee, Ripple's Asia-Pacific sales director; David Katz, Circle Internet Group's vice president of strategy and policy for Asia-Pacific; and Queenie Le, Tether's regional expansion lead for Asia-Pacific.

The discussions will be moderated by industry and academic experts, including PwC Korea Partner Lee Jae-hyuk, Seoul National University finance professor Lee Jong-sub, Kim & Chang foreign attorney Yoo Seung-jae, Tiger Research founder and CEO Daniel Kim, BitGo's Korea commercial strategy head Chris Park and Herald Media Group Executive Director of Innovation and Strategy Jem Kim.

The forum will conclude with a special open Q&A session for students, offering an opportunity to discuss digital asset trends and career opportunities with Daniel Kim.

silverstar@heraldcorp.com