(Yonhap Interview) Startup Mesh to double down on APAC, future in crypto era: executive

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SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- The Asia Pacific (APAC) region, including South Korea, could become the next power in the crypto era, and startup Mesh plans to double down on efforts in such markets, an executive from the company said Wednesday.

Jason Ne Win, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Mesh, made the remarks in an interview with Yonhap News Agency on the sidelines of the Korea Blockchain Week 2026, an international industry event in Seoul.

"I think crypto allows the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as a block to achieve its potential of being like right next to the Group of Seven (G7) countries... and then you have countries like South Korea and Japan where their huge, amazing economies are based on domestic consumption and flow," he said. "There are so many reasons why APAC is really the future."

The executive's comments come as the unicorn startup launched its dedicated APAC operations in April, which followed a US$75 million Series C funding round. The world's first crypto orchestration platform, which connects various virtual asset exchanges and wallets on its system, is currently valued at $1 billion since its founding in 2020.

The company has around 300 partners, with major investors being PayPal and Samsung Next, a venture capital arm of Samsung Electronics Co.

Jason Ne Win, the chief executive officer for APAC at Mesh, smiles, in this photo provided by the company on Sept. 30, 2026. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

According to Ne Win, Asia accounted for 60 percent of all stablecoin movements in 2025, while around five to seven of the top 10 markets in terms of crypto penetration were in the APAC region, with South Korea being one of them.

Infrastructure-wise, the region is further ahead than most developed countries, as it utilizes new payment methods, such as QR codes, instead of credit cards.

Purchasing power in the area is also growing, the executive said, adding he expects the region to account for up to 60 percent of global purchasing power by the year 2030.

"In almost every metric, APAC comes out on top. There are so many reasons why Mesh chose APAC, and why I am doubling, tripling down" on the region, Ne Win said.

Although Mesh's team for Asia is still small, with around five people, its presence is growing faster than expected, with the company already signing nearly 10 deals with local partners in the Asia market.

Mesh has been meeting with South Korean companies since early this week, mostly in the payments and commerce space, he said, without further elaborating.

"For digital assets natives that travel to South Korea, they can use their stablecoin wallets or exchange accounts to purchase, to spend, to move around. That's one small but growing segment," he said, when asked about the executive's area of interest in the Korean virtual asset market.

"I think South Korea has some areas where friction can be improved," Ne Win added.

Jason Ne Win, the chief executive officer for APAC at Mesh, is seen in this photo provided by the company on Sept. 30, 2026. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Regarding discussions within South Korea to issue won-denominated stablecoins, the executive expressed strong support, saying the country should "100 percent" proceed with such a move.

Stablecoins are mostly made up of U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoins, and their market cap is only around $400 billion, far smaller than the total market cap of U.S. dollar-denominated financial instruments, the executive explained.

"My view is that stablecoin makeup will reflect true commerce, true money, true FX. Which means every country will have its own local currency denominated stablecoin, and they will have multiple issuers because there are multiple use cases, and there's no one-size-fits-all (solution)," Ne Win said.

On South Korea's regulatory efforts to bring virtual assets into the mainstream financial system, the executive advised regulators and policymakers to take on a more global perspective.

"Globally money moves, information moves, value moves. So some degree of regulatory harmonization or recognition will be important."

fairydust@yna.co.kr (END)

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(Yonhap Interview) Startup Mesh to double down on APAC, future in crypto era: executive

这将使谷歌能够向您展示与您的搜索匹配或相关的韩联社新闻文章。

首尔，9月30日（韩联社）——一家名为Mesh的初创公司的高管周三表示，包括韩国在内的亚太地区可能成为加密货币时代的下一个强国，该公司计划加倍投入此类市场。

Mesh 首席执行官 Jason Ne Win 在首尔举行的 2026 年韩国区块链周（一个国际行业盛会）期间接受韩联社采访时发表了上述言论。

“我认为加密货币能够帮助东盟作为一个整体发挥其潜力，使其地位堪比七国集团（G7）……此外，还有像韩国和日本这样经济规模庞大、发展迅猛的国家，它们都依赖于国内消费和资金流动，”他说道。“亚太地区代表着未来，原因有很多。”

这位高管发表上述评论之际，这家独角兽初创公司于今年4月启动了其亚太地区专属运营，此前该公司刚刚完成了7500万美元的C轮融资。作为全球首个加密货币编排平台，该公司在其系统中连接了各种虚拟资产交易所和钱包，自2020年成立以来，目前的估值已达10亿美元。

该公司拥有约 300 个合作伙伴，主要投资者包括 PayPal 和三星电子公司的风险投资部门 Samsung Next。

Mesh亚太区首席执行官Jason Ne Win在这张公司于2026年9月30日提供的照片中面带微笑。（照片非卖品）（韩联社）

据 Ne Win 称，到 2025 年，亚洲将占所有稳定币交易量的 60%，而加密货币渗透率排名前 10 的市场中，亚太地区约有 5 到 7 个，韩国就是其中之一。

在基础设施方面，该地区比大多数发达国家领先，因为它使用二维码等新型支付方式，而不是信用卡。

这位高管表示，该地区的购买力也在增长，并补充说，他预计到 2030 年，该地区的购买力将占全球购买力的 60%。

“几乎在所有指标上，亚太地区都名列前茅。Mesh选择亚太地区的原因有很多，这也是我加大对该地区投资力度的原因，”Ne Win说道。

尽管 Mesh 在亚洲的团队规模仍然很小，只有大约 5 人，但其发展速度却超出了预期，该公司已经与亚洲市场的当地合作伙伴签署了近 10 项协议。

Mesh表示，从本周初开始，他一直在与韩国公司会面，主要涉及支付和商业领域，但他没有进一步详细说明。

当被问及这位高管对韩国虚拟资产市场的关注领域时，他表示：“对于前往韩国的数字资产原生用户来说，他们可以使用稳定币钱包或交易所账户进行购买、消费和出行。这是一个规模虽小但增长迅速的细分市场。”

“我认为韩国在某些领域可以改善摩擦，”奈温补充道。

这张照片由Mesh公司于2026年9月30日提供，照片中是Mesh亚太区首席执行官Jason Ne Win。（照片非卖品）（韩联社）

关于韩国​​国内关于发行韩元计价稳定币的讨论，这位高管表示强烈支持，称韩国应该“百分之百”推进这一举措。

该高管解释说，稳定币主要由以美元计价的稳定币组成，其市值仅约为 4000 亿美元，远小于以美元计价的金融工具的总市值。

Ne Win表示：“我认为稳定币的构成将反映真正的商业、真正的货币和真正的外汇。这意味着每个国家都将拥有以本国货币计价的稳定币，并且会有多个发行机构，因为稳定币有多种用途，没有一种方案可以适用于所有情况。”

针对韩国为将虚拟资产引入主流金融体系而采取的监管措施，这位高管建议监管机构和政策制定者采取更具全球视野的视角。

“在全球范围内，资金流动、信息流动、价值流动。因此，一定程度的监管协调或认可至关重要。”

fairydust@yna.co.kr (完)

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8月份韩国的外国人数量达到280万。

（韩联社专访）初创公司Mesh高管表示，公司将加倍投资亚太市场，着眼于加密货币时代。