[Institutional Web3 Forum] The Next Market After Stablecoins is Asset Management... Kaia: "Asian RWA Revenue Market to Open"

Lee Yun-ho, CEO of Kaia Investment Partners, predicted that following the popularization of stablecoins, key use cases will expand beyond payments and remittances to deposits and asset management.

At the 'Institutional Web3 Forum' held at the GLAD Hotel in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul at 1 p.m. on the 12th, Lee Yun-ho, CEO of Kaia Investment Partners, gave a presentation on the topic of 'Real Yield, Real Value: The Era of Stablecoins, Intrinsic Returns Found in Asian Real Assets'.

The CEO explained the potential for combining stablecoins, real-world assets (RWA), and on-chain revenue products from the perspective of having experience in both traditional finance and blockchain.

He stated, "Although it is being talked about as if stablecoins will swallow the world, they are not yet at the stage of true mass adoption," and assessed that current users are primarily concentrated among cryptocurrency traders and users of remittances and payments. He added, "If stablecoins become an asset used by everyone, they will naturally expand beyond remittances and payments to savings, investments, and asset management."

The CEO viewed the remittance and payment market as having already established a certain scale, but noted that stablecoin-based custody and asset management are areas that have just begun. He emphasized, "Even in traditional finance, the scale of asset management surpasses that of other asset classes," adding, "From the perspective of 2026 and 2027, what we should focus on is ultimately custody and asset management."

Regarding regulations, citing the U.S. Genius Act, it was pointed out that issuers cannot directly pay interest to stablecoin holders. However, it was explained that distribution institutions or deposit protocols can provide returns, noting that this is similar to the structure in traditional finance where banks accept and manage deposits to generate profits.

He said, "If stablecoins become part of everyone's assets, such deposit and management services will inevitably exist," adding, "Even when the era of on-chain finance and stablecoins arrives, asset management methods will not be significantly different from portfolio management in traditional finance."

Structural limitations of the on-chain lending market were also pointed out. It was explained that major lending protocols such as Abe, Sky, and Morpho currently utilize highly volatile crypto assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum as collateral, leading to repeated risks of default and service collapse due to fluctuations in collateral value.

"The CEO stated, 'DeFi services are increasingly seeking RWA assets as collateral because they generate stable returns and cash flow,' adding, 'RWA is being proven to be the asset with the most sustainable growth in on-chain finance.'"

It was explained that the current RWA market is growing rapidly, driven by U.S. Treasury bonds and private credit, with major players concentrated in the U.S. and Europe. In contrast, it was pointed out that in Asia, with the exception of some institutions in Singapore, there are few active participants, and no distinct player has yet emerged in Korea.

It was explained that private credit tends to be utilized more than U.S. Treasury bonds, particularly in the composition of DeFi collateral assets. Since U.S. Treasury yields are in the mid-3% range while lending protocol rates are around 4%, private credit assets offering returns of 5–6% or higher are more suitable for leveraged investments.

Kaia Investment Partners announced the launch of 'Yield8,' an Asian digital private credit-based token product targeting this market environment. This product aims for a return in the 8% range and plans to expand into various on-chain yield ETFs in the future.

Kaia's strategy was also introduced. The CEO explained that Kaia has been preparing a "stablecoin orchestration layer" as its major direction since last year. He stated that the company is deploying local stablecoins on the Kaia chain, issuing Tether natively, and establishing deposit and withdrawal environments in major Asian markets including Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore.

In addition, they announced plans to add Indonesian Rupiah and Japanese Yen-based stablecoins and connect on-ramps for various national fiat currencies to enable Asian users to utilize products within the Kaia ecosystem. Furthermore, they explained that they are preparing an on-chain FX market that supports exchanges between local stablecoins, as well as a profit engine that provides returns on short-term deposits.

The CEO emphasized that since Kaia is a chain that originated from Kakao and Line, it possesses channels to reach approximately 250 million users in Asia, including Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand.

They also mentioned a vault service that allows for the deposit and management of stablecoins. They explained that while existing on-chain investment products were limited to yields based on US Treasury bonds or BTC/ETH collateral, remaining at a 3–4% level, the market's required rate of return is higher. Accordingly, Kaia Investment stated that it is securing higher revenue sources through its in-house incubated RWA project and Asian private credit assets.

Specifically, users access the service through the LINE messenger and the stablecoin wallet 'UNIFI,' and the structure involves depositing stablecoins into a deposit and return protocol to be invested in on-chain products. Some generate a 3–4% return on lending protocols like Maple, while others are invested in tokenized Yield8 products from the RWA fund, providing relatively stable and high returns.

The reasons cited for focusing on Asian private credit include imbalances in national financial structures and differences in credit premiums. The explanation is that even for products with the same structure, returns vary by country, and higher profit opportunities exist in financial sectors that are not yet fully developed, such as Indonesian ship financing.

"The CEO stated, 'Due to imbalances in each country's financial structures and differences in credit premiums, returns vary even for the same product,' adding, 'Tokenizing profits generated from Asian real assets and connecting them on-chain is the opportunity we are seeing.'"

Regulatory compliance was also emphasized. Kaia explained that it is tokenizing earnings in accordance with regulations in Singapore and Indonesia, and that Yield8 was issued and officially distributed within the Indonesian financial authority OJK Sandbox. The company plans to expand into secondary market trading, such as DEXs, once regulations are established.

Kaia also presented a future product roadmap. Starting with dollar-based return products, the company plans to sequentially launch return products based on the Japanese Yen, Rupiah, and Korean Won. Furthermore, it announced plans to expand into tokenized return products that support leveraged investment by launching 'Yield5,' a medium-return product.

"The CEO said, 'Once sufficient liquidity is secured for local stablecoins in each country, we will launch profit ETF products tailored to those currencies,' adding, 'We will use Korea as our main stage and play a role in leading and developing the market together with institutional partners.'"

The Institutional Web3 Forum was an event co-hosted by TokenPost, the Korea Fintech Industry Association (KORFIN), and the Open Blockchain & DID Association (OBDIA), and officially sponsored by Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit. Designed for financial institutions and institutional investors to share Web3 investment insights and network, the event was attended by approximately 100 representatives from domestic commercial banks, securities firms, insurance companies, fintech, and digital asset industries via pre-invitation.

It is expected to become a venue where domestic institutions with an interest and vision for Web3 gather to address key agendas closely connected to institutional finance, such as stablecoins, custody, and on-chain financial infrastructure, thereby creating practical trends and momentum for the domestic Web3 industry.