Vitalik's plan could boost ETH to $3K, and Crypto is "more popular" than South Korean stocks

Welcome to Asia Morning Post, a summary of daily summary during US time, and an overview of market movement and analysis. For a detailed overview of the U.S. market, see Coindesk's Crypto Daybook Americas.

With the start of workday in Asia, ETH Traders is priced at $2,600, but OKX's chief commercial officer Lennix Lai believes that if Vitalik Buterin can get rid of Ethereum's dependence on 2 layers, it's an easy path for the token.

Layer 1 refers to the main blockchain infrastructure, such as Ethereum itself, while Layer 2 solutions are built on top of Layer 1 to enhance scalability and accelerate transactions.

"Vitalik's hub for Ethereum 1 x 10x scaling Ethereum will be a game-changer, shifting its focus to a serious reliance on layer 2 solutions like Sharding, like Sharding," Lai said in a note to Coindesk.

He continued: “On our platform, ETH Eternal Futures accounted for 44.2% of trading volume over the past seven days, showing us that advanced investors are closely following this evolution.”

LAI pointed to key macro events this week, such as the ECB’s interest rate decisions and U.S. employment data, which could have a significant impact on risky appetite and could make ETH’s short-term past $3,000, although Ethereum’s long-term success depends on Vitalik’s ambitious roadmap.

Elsewhere, Coindesk Research’s technical analytics model inspired Ethereum to be more resilient than critical support at $2,600, driven by institutional inflows approaching $1.2 billion and massive purchases, positioning ETH as possible Altcoin Rally.

(Coindesk)

Simon Kim, CEO of South Korea's largest crypto fund, believes cryptocurrencies have become a key force in South Korea's politics, and it will be as usual for the industry of the country's new left president Lee Jae-Myung.

"From a formal perspective, cryptocurrencies are more popular than the stock market in South Korea," Kim said in a recent interview with Coindesk.

He pointed out that data shows that there are 16.29 million active cryptocurrency traders every day, while 14.24 million active equity traders, noting that political parties now see support for cryptocurrencies as crucial to winning elections.

According to Kim, South Korea's crypto policy continues to be closely related to the regulatory developments in the United States.

"All North Korean politicians are following the United States," he explained, pointing out how American institutions and regulators guide global standards. Kim added that South Korea's previously set crypto capital gains tax policy plans began in early 2027 but have not changed.

Kim Jong Il expects Lee's government to develop a Stablecoin policy as they currently account for one-tenth of South Korea's cryptocurrency transactions.

Issuing stable stock coins in South Korea can be complicated because the Korean winner is a tightly controlled onshore currency with strict capital constraints, which makes integration into the borderless cryptocurrency market challenging.

Kim said in conversations with some decision makers, they said that given its advanced payment ecosystem, “there is no benefit to adopt Stablecoin in the Korean market”.

But, as Kim said, they already account for one tenth of the country’s transaction volume, and people are increasingly aware that they need to be safely included in the economy where they can be taxed.

“Stablecoins is not just a payment network,” he said. “It is building a unique digital platform to enable smart contracts and build an autonomous economy.”

In addition to encryption, Kim also hopes that Lee's government will invest heavily in artificial intelligence.

However, Kim expressed doubts about plans to create a sovereign AI platform, comparable to American giants such as Openai.

Instead, he believes that South Korea's strength lies in "physical AI", establishing professional solutions tailored to areas that South Korea is good at (including semiconductors, electronics and advanced manufacturing).

"I believe the new government has a certain feeling about the unfair advantage we have in the physical AI ecosystem. That's the point I'm very excited about," he said.

Coindesk previously reported that Circle set its IPO at $31 per share, surpassing expectations of $24 to $26, raising about $1.1 billion and rating Stablecoin issuers at about $6.9 billion. The product includes about 34 million shares, which is much more than the planned 24 million shares, indicating strong market demand.

Trading under the ticker "CRCL," Circle will debug Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange, marking a major milestone after a previous failed SPAC attempt in 2021. As issuer of the USDC stablecoin, Circle's listing arrives amid renewed legislative interest in digital assets and potential regulatory clarity, potentially strengthening investor confidence amid recent crypto volatile.

Coindesk previously reported that U.S. House Republicans are passing the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act to regulate the cryptocurrency market.

Republicans believe the bill urgently addresses the need for a clear regulatory framework in the cryptocurrency industry to prevent innovation from moving offshore, highlighting the risk that the U.S. will lag behind Europe and Asia in cryptocurrency surveillance.

But Democrats criticized the legislation as hastily, complex and lack of adequate consumer protection, especially due to unresolved conflicts of interest related to President Donald Trump’s personal cryptocurrency business activities. As representative Jim Himes stressed, Democrats must have strict safeguards and transparency measures to ensure bipartisan support, and Republicans largely see these allegations as politically motivated distractions.