KWBA

Beyond simple networking, the association provides wide-ranging support—including business development, investment linkage, legal and policy consulting—to help early-stage companies overcome real-world challenges and pursue lasting growth. Above all, KWBA focuses on discovering and nurturing blockchain startups by regularly hosting IR programs, demo days, and M&A matchmaking events to help early tech companies secure marketability and competitiveness. At association-hosted investment briefings, promising startups are directly connected with venture capital firms, angel investors, and corporate venture capital (CVC) units, enabling them to secure funding opportunities. Through these efforts, the association aims to foster a healthy capital circulation structure within the blockchain startup ecosystem.

The association also supports the integration of innovative technologies held by startups into existing industrial infrastructure through open innovation programs with large corporations. These collaborations go beyond simple technology supply or subcontracting—they evolve into co-developing solutions or creating new business models. As a result, blockchain startups gain access to large-scale market entry opportunities and the ability to establish viable revenue models.

The association also offers specialized business training programs to strengthen the internal capabilities of startups. These programs feature practical, operations-focused curricula covering areas such as management, marketing, and product planning. In particular, seminars on global market entry strategies, education on international legal frameworks, and consulting on localization strategies have garnered significant attention.

In addition, the association provides legal and policy consulting to help startups proactively respond to the rapidly evolving domestic and international regulatory landscape. We analyze global trends in virtual asset and blockchain regulations, and share timely updates on domestic legal issues so that startups can operate within a predictable legal environment.

In particular, the association hosts frequent briefing sessions for member companies on key issues such as amendments to the Act on Reporting and Use of Certain Financial Transaction Information, security token offering (STO) guidelines, and NFT regulations. When necessary, we also serve as a policy liaison by submitting official opinions or conducting briefings with government agencies.

Through these initiatives, the association aims to go beyond simply serving as a tech community and instead act as a practical, results-driven partner for business growth—supporting startups from the earliest stages through series funding rounds and global expansion, across the entire corporate lifecycle.

As a fundamentally borderless, technology-driven ecosystem, the blockchain industry requires strategic linkage between innovation outcomes and global markets—along with international regulatory frameworks and local partners—to unlock new opportunities.

To this end, KWBA is pursuing strategic partnerships with major global blockchain platforms and foundations such as Avalanche, Solana, and the Ethereum Foundation.

These global networks are designed to go beyond mere information exchange, leading to tangible business opportunities such as joint technology development, pilot project implementation, and ecosystem participation. Through this approach, the association aims to establish a foundation for Korean startups to become integral players in the global blockchain ecosystem.

Through its global expansion consulting program, the association provides comprehensive support to startups exploring international markets—including market research, local partner matchmaking, and legal and regulatory advisory services. We offer country-specific entry strategies for major virtual asset hubs such as the United States, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with a focus on tailored consulting aligned to each company’s growth stage to minimize trial and error during market entry. In addition, startups can receive practical assistance with complex initial procedures—such as entity incorporation, bank account setup, business registration, and KYC/AML compliance—through KWBA’s network of local experts.

The association also supports Korean startups in enhancing their global visibility and expanding their networks by facilitating participation in major international blockchain conferences and expos. We provide end-to-end support—including pre-event matchmaking, post-event meeting coordination, interpretation services, and the production of promotional materials—to enable member companies to officially participate in world-renowned events such as Consensus, Token2049, and Web3 Summit, including operating exhibition booths. What sets us apart is our thorough pre- and post-event management system, which ensures that participation leads to meaningful outcomes such as investor engagement, partnership agreements, and PoC collaborations, rather than ending as short-term exposure.

Amid the rapidly evolving global regulatory landscape surrounding virtual assets and blockchain, the association operates various channels to ensure that member companies stay informed and can effectively respond to international policy and regulatory developments.

Given that frameworks such as the EU’s MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets), the U.S. SEC’s token classification guidelines, and the virtual asset hub strategies of Hong Kong and Dubai have significant implications for Korean companies’ global expansion, KWBA provides regular analytical reports and hosts policy response workshops to explore these global issues in depth.

Beyond global cooperation, the association also serves as a policy bridge between Korea and the international community.

We actively collaborate with both domestic government agencies and overseas partners to ensure that outstanding technologies and services developed in Korea can be utilized on the global stage. In the long term, KWBA seeks to function as a private-sector diplomatic channel, conveying the voices of Korean startups in global regulatory coordination efforts and blockchain industry standardization discussions.

These international cooperation and global expansion initiatives form essential infrastructure that enables Korean startups to move beyond local markets and emerge as globally competitive, technology-driven enterprises. Anchored in its strategic vision as a “connector between Korea and the world,” the association is committed to driving industrial advancement in the global era.

With its core architecture as a trust-based decentralized ledger, blockchain has the potential to address longstanding challenges and introduce new paradigms in data management, finance, healthcare, content, ESG, and more.

To support this, KWBA operates various exchange platforms and collaborative forums with other industry associations and public institutions, helping integrate blockchain into real-world industrial settings.

The association strengthens the connection between technology and industry by collaborating with key stakeholders across sectors such as data, artificial intelligence (AI), healthcare, fintech, gaming, and content.

The convergence of AI and blockchain is one of the association’s key focus areas. Core infrastructure projects—such as blockchain-based data exchanges, data trust verification services for enterprises and institutions, and transparent distribution and reward systems for AI training data—are gaining attention in the emerging data economy. The association is actively designing the necessary technology matching strategies and regulatory response frameworks to support these initiatives.

In the financial sector, the association proposes collaborative industry frameworks to respond effectively to regulatory transitions—such as building bridges between DeFi and CeFi, and fostering the security token offering (STO) ecosystem. Although STO involves complex issues requiring both the Capital Markets Act and regulatory guidelines from financial authorities, the association actively engages in discussions with member companies and expert groups to develop such guidelines, while also providing policy proposals and real-world application cases.

The association is also expanding the practical application of blockchain technology in the healthcare and ESG sectors. Examples include secure management and identity verification of patient data, interoperability of medical records between hospitals, and transparent trading platforms for carbon credits—all of which leverage the trust and transparency inherent in blockchain. We are strengthening collaboration with government agencies such as the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, while actively exploring the potential for blockchain adoption in the public sector.

In the content industry, key initiatives include protecting intellectual property rights, establishing NFT-based distribution systems, developing ownership verification mechanisms for metaverse and digital assets, and designing blockchain-based reward and distribution systems for in-game items. These efforts aim to revolutionize the creator-user rights and reward structure, contributing to the formation of a new Creator Economy. The association supports startups entering this field through practical workshops and technical consulting.

Unlike simple technology promotion efforts, the association’s industry convergence initiatives are distinguished by their focus on identifying real-world demand within each sector and developing concrete solutions that incorporate blockchain integration along with relevant institutional frameworks.

The association also actively serves as a communication channel with government and regulatory bodies to address institutional gaps and regulatory risks that arise during the convergence process.

Policy advocacy is a key pillar of the association’s work. To address the ambiguous regulatory environment, inter-ministerial responsibility gaps, and disconnects between technology and legal systems that hinder blockchain adoption across industries, the association gathers feedback from the field and drafts policy proposals. These are actively communicated through public hearings, roundtable discussions, and National Assembly forums. Through these efforts, the association continues to promote regulatory rationalization and institutional reform from the perspective of startups.

The association positions itself as a coordinator, connector, and creator in breaking down barriers between industries and fostering technology-driven innovation. We will continue to strengthen our practical and actionable initiatives in convergence and policy advocacy to ensure that blockchain technology plays a leading role in shaping the future of Korean industry.

Going beyond member support, the association serves as a policy-based private think tank that delivers in-depth analysis and insights into blockchain technology and its industry, bridging the gap between startups, the government, and public institutions.

KWBA regularly publishes blockchain startup reports that outline industry trends, challenges, and policy proposals, which are shared with both regulatory bodies and private investors.

This report goes beyond simple industry statistics, encompassing insights from frontline companies, global market trends, technological and regulatory developments, and investment patterns to capture the true pulse of the industry. Through this, the association aims to provide an informed and credible voice that positions blockchain not merely as a finance-centric technology, but as a foundational pillar of future societal infrastructure.

Providing consulting and policy recommendations to government and public institutions is also a core function of the association. We participate in the legislative process related to blockchain through meetings, seminars, and working-level discussions with key bodies such as the National Assembly, the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Financial Services Commission, and the Ministry of Environment.

By collecting feedback from member companies, we offer practical recommendations for institutional improvement. Recently, the association has submitted its official positions on issues such as guidelines for security token offerings (STOs), NFT taxation standards, institutionalization of data exchanges, and protection measures for metaverse content—playing a central role in ensuring that the practical perspectives of the private sector are reflected in policy discussions.

These policy efforts are directly linked to practical support for member companies. The association provides legal advice, policy response consulting, and issue-specific regulatory briefings to help members navigate rapidly changing institutional landscapes with greater clarity and stability. This is especially valuable for startups, which often lack dedicated legal teams or face difficulties interpreting policy. Through our briefings and resource materials, we offer meaningful support in minimizing risks and enabling more confident business operations.

The association also promotes broader awareness and adoption of blockchain technology and the startup ecosystem through education and outreach initiatives. We design specialized training programs that span business, policy, and technology domains, targeting not only startup practitioners but also corporate stakeholders, public sector professionals, and students.

These offerings range from short-term lectures to hands-on academies and both online and offline seminars, and are continuously updated to reflect the latest industry developments.

Content creation and public communication are also key components of the association’s strategic efforts. Through platforms such as YouTube, webzines, and newsletters, the association shares real-world insights—including success stories, lessons from failures, fundraising experiences, and global expansion journeys of blockchain startups.

Our goal is to demonstrate how blockchain technology operates in real-world industries rather than remaining an abstract concept. In doing so, we help convey the tangible reality of the blockchain sector to a wide range of audiences—including the general public, policymakers, investors, and students—and encourage active participation in the ecosystem.

The association is also developing customized programs for young entrepreneurs and aspiring startup founders. In collaboration with universities, startup incubators, and university-affiliated holding companies, we provide early-stage startups—often at the idea stage—with practical guidance on entering the market. These programs include full-cycle startup infrastructure such as mentoring, proof-of-concept (PoC) support, and team-building assistance.

In summary, KWBA’s policy, education, and content initiatives are grounded in three core pillars: knowledge production, expert development, and public communication. The association serves as a compass for the industry’s direction, acting as the closest policy partner and a growth platform for its member companies. Through these efforts, KWBA is laying a knowledge-based and sustainable foundation to help Korea’s blockchain industry move toward a better future.