KBW2026: Digital Asset Leaders Gather, Partner Lineup Unveiled

Digital Asset Leaders Converge at KBW2026 as Partner Lineup Unveiled

Korea Blockchain Week 2026 with Upbit (KBW2026) has announced a new slate of partners and sponsors, signaling how the region’s flagship digital asset conference is widening its focus from retail crypto markets to include institutional finance, stablecoin payments, AI infrastructure, and regulated digital asset services.

FACTBLOCK, the organizer of KBW2026, said on August 31 that Upbit, 0G, BRV, Stable, Tria, and BitGo will participate as key sponsors and partners for this year’s event in Seoul.

Upbit has been named the Presenting Partner. Upbit CEO Kyoungsuk Oh is also scheduled to speak, with the conference positioning his appearance as part of a broader effort to frame Korea’s digital asset market in the context of global market structure and rising institutional participation.

0G, described as a decentralized AI infrastructure company, and global venture capital firm BRV have joined as Official Conference Partners. Michael Heinrich, co-founder and CEO of 0G Labs, will appear on the main stage to discuss the “agent economy” and the infrastructure layers being built to support AI applications and autonomous agents. Organizers described 0G as a “trust layer for AI,” combining verifiable compute, private inference, decentralized storage, and an AI-native blockchain.

BitGo will serve as the event’s Official Institutional Sponsor. The company’s Korea unit, BitGo Korea, recently received acceptance of its Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) registration from Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU), a development that establishes a regulatory basis for its domestic operations. Mike Belshe, BitGo’s co-founder and CEO, is also slated to speak at KBW2026.

Stable and Tria have joined as Diamond Sponsors, with their leaders also set to take the stage. Brian Mehler, CEO of Stable, and John Lilic, co-founder and chief strategy officer of Tria, are expected to discuss infrastructure for stablecoin-oriented payments and cross-chain transactions. Organizers said Stable is building blockchain infrastructure optimized for stablecoin transfers, while Tria is developing financial infrastructure designed to let businesses and AI agents transact across blockchains and digital assets, including support for a stablecoin neobank.

The conference schedule reflects the industry’s evolving priorities, with sessions spanning institutional market structure, hedge fund implementation, and tokenization design questions around distribution, liquidity, and investor protections. Organizers also highlighted that senior executives from partner companies will participate not only as sponsors but as speakers, giving attendees direct exposure to how major firms are approaching the next stage of digital asset adoption.

• Event dates: KBW2026 will take place in Seoul from September 29 to October 1.
• Institutional focus: The Upbit Institutional Summit (UIS), an invite-only program for institutions and the financial sector, will be held on September 29.
• Main conference: The core KBW2026 program runs from September 30 to October 1.

Andrew Park, CEO of FACTBLOCK, said the partner lineup is intended to reflect the industry’s expansion beyond trading and investment into areas such as institutional infrastructure, stablecoins, AI, and next-generation financial services—an orientation that has increasingly defined how large conferences frame the digital asset sector’s maturation.