KryptoSeoul founder Erica Kang and DAO APAC co-founder Nicole Nguyen joined CryptoSlate Akiba will talk about the potential in Asian markets and their joint event BUIDL Asia.
CONSTRUCTION Vietnam
Korea-based KryptoSeoul is a group of cryptocurrency enthusiasts who came together to create an ecosystem, foster growth, and support global blockchain projects. In addition, the team offers translation, meeting, and community management services to lessen Asia’s alienation from the crypto world.
Vietnam-based APAC DAO, or the Asia-Pacific Decentralized Autonomous Organization, is a company comprised of entrepreneurs and investors to help Web3 startups prosper and grow.
Erica and Nicole’s friendship goes back years. The two companies co-sponsored BUIDL Asia 2022, which was held in Vietnam to bring the community together and serve the joint effort of both companies to grow a crypto ecosystem in Asia. To promote the idea of expanding throughout the region, BUIDL Asia was held in Vietnam, making it the first conference to take place outside of Korea.
Erica said:
“The current web 3 system is very small, with these activities we will motivate the community to expand. What we’re trying to do here, in addition to webinars and hackathons, we want to create a space for them to really communicate across different communities.”
The event took place on September 23 and 24 and was attended by more than 35 speakers who gave one-on-one talks, made presentations, joined panel discussions, and conducted workshops.
Setbacks for the Asian community
“The Asian community needs support,” Erica said. Even though it is much easier for crypto-loving Asians to find a place to pursue their passion, there are still significant setbacks for the Asian community.
The first of them is the language barrier. Erica mentioned that all the main project documents are published in English and include important issues when translated into the local language. Furthermore, Crypto Twitter also operates in English, which contributes to information asymmetry in the Asian region. “This,” said Erica, “sets the Asian market back a bit in terms of speed and depth.”
The second problem stems from the Twitter and Discord-oriented growth of the crypto community. Nicole and Erica said that the main social application in the region is Facebook. While the region is trying to adjust to Twitter and Discord, they are still very unknown to many.
Another problem arises due to the fragmented structure of the Asian crypto market. “The market is huge,” said Nicole, “but location and local partners are crucial.” Furthermore, Asian culture values face-to-face contact and communication, making it difficult for global projects to enter Asian markets.
Potential of Asian markets
After listing the setbacks, Erica and Nicole discussed the potential of the crypto sphere in Asia.
Erica described the crypto community in Korea as a “small population, but good talent.” According to her, the developer community and the builder market are interested in learning and applying what they have learned in Web3 projects.
Erica said they were trying to respond to the community’s demand for education and their move toward enforcement. She stated:
“What we’re trying to do is build that interest in the construction space and not just talk about price movements.”
Considering the setbacks and isolation of Asian markets, Nicole draws attention to the ingenuity and resilience of the building community in Asia. She said:
“…what they can do with far fewer resources and without being able to rely on any centralized party to launch a project.”
In addition to the builder community’s strengths, Nicole and Erica mentioned that the gaming and DeFi markets in Asia are also huge, which could make the region a good choice for a test bet.
