The United States has placed digital assets at the center of its national strategy. The Trump administration's second term aims to solve national debt and strengthen global financial hegemony through Bitcoin and stablecoins under the slogan 'Make America Great Again'. This could be a turning point that redefines America's economic sovereignty beyond simple industry promotion.
The fundamental purpose of the Trump administration in bringing cryptocurrencies into the institutional realm is to resolve astronomical national debt. To achieve this, the United States is employing a creative dual strategy. First, strategic Bitcoin reserves. David Sacks, the digital asset policy czar directly under the US President, declared that "a national-level Bitcoin holding plan is the top priority of digital asset policy". The White House Digital Asset Working Group is concretizing a plan to purchase Bitcoin in bulk using funds secured by reevaluating the current gold reserves. Second, a strategy to expand US Treasury demand using stablecoins. The 'Stablecoin Act' proposed by Republican Senator Bill Hagerty specifies that stablecoin issuers must hold US Treasuries as reserves. Major stablecoin issuers like Tether are already holding substantial amounts of US Treasuries.
In a situation where China is massively selling US Treasuries due to US-China tensions, stablecoin issuers can create Treasury demand as a 'second major player'. The stablecoin market continues to grow, and if this trend continues, it has the potential to absorb trillions of dollars in US Treasuries.
What path is Korea taking now, having once been the center of the global digital asset market and recording the world's highest cryptocurrency trading volume? While the United States is elevating Bitcoin to a strategic asset and Japan is building a stablecoin ecosystem through amendments to its fund settlement law, we remain stagnant, blocked by regulations.
Busan Blockchain Special Zone is the optimal location for establishing a Korean-style digital asset ecosystem. As the second-largest city in Korea, it has world-class port and logistics infrastructure. It has already been designated as a blockchain regulatory sandbox, providing a legal basis for experimenting with various blockchain services. We must walk a 'third way' different from the US Bitcoin reserve strategy or China's CBDC-centered strategy. China is actively promoting CBDC as a means to counter the US-centered global monetary system, while the US seeks to extend its existing financial hegemony to the digital realm through dollar-based stablecoins.
Korea can secure differentiated competitiveness by building a blockchain city model centered on actual usage. I propose three key strategies centered around Busan Digital Asset Exchange.
First, redesign the blockchain-based 'Dongbaek Coin' as a city payment system. By combining the local currency Dongbaek Coin with blockchain technology, we can create an ecosystem where citizens' daily economic activities are transparently recorded. Busan Digital Asset Exchange will function as the core infrastructure of this system, providing liquidity and ensuring stable value. Second, establish a blockchain-based citizen community and voting system. Using blockchain technology that prevents tampering, we can implement a participatory democracy platform where citizens' opinions are reflected in city policies without distortion. This system becomes a channel for citizens to directly participate in city budget execution and policy-making processes. Third, build a privacy protection system using advanced security technologies. Medical records can have differentiated access permissions based on stakeholders like insurance companies, patients, and hospitals, and administrative documents can be managed securely. Zero-knowledge proof technology can verify information authenticity without revealing original data, simultaneously achieving personal information protection and data utilization.
If Busan evolves into a blockchain city, the verified data generated in citizens' daily lives will become a source of global competitiveness. Large-scale blockchain demonstration cases will be essential assets for verifying and improving technology performance, scalability, and security. The know-how accumulated through city operations will overcome blockchain technology limitations and develop into solutions applicable to real life.
We can leap forward as a digital asset powerhouse through a city model that integrates blockchain into real life, different from the United States or China. The time given to us is limited, as countries worldwide are utilizing digital assets as national strategies. Digital assets are not mere speculative tools but a strategic domain involving national competitiveness and financial sovereignty. As the Trump administration seeks to solve national debt through cryptocurrencies, we too must develop strategies to enhance national competitiveness through blockchain technology. When we implement bold digital asset promotion policies centered on the Busan Blockchain Special Zone, Korea's unique third path will open. The choice for the future lies at the center of the Busan Blockchain Special Zone.
