Crypto communities are a group of enthusiasts gathered for discussions on crypto projects. These communities usually coalesce via online platforms such as Telegram, Reddit, Twitter, and Discord. The success of a crypto project depends on the feedback and opinions from the members since the project’s value is contingent on the number of users in the community.
As beneficial as these online communities can be, it may at times be difficult to spot and avoid scammers. As a result, in-person meetings are recommended for healthy and long-lasting growth within crypto space. Representing South Korea on crypto evangelism, Erica Kang, an Ewha alumna and the founder of KryptoSeoul, plays a major role in building in-person communities throughout the world.
Founded in 2017, KryptoSeoul is a community- building brand based on highlighting solid projects in the crypto space. Since 2018, KryptoSeoul has hosted the annual BUIDL Asia, a tech-focused and community-driven conference, held in Seoul, South Korea.
As the organizer and host of BUIDL Asia, Kang selects the theme of the year and the main speakers to present updates on their projects. BUIDL Asia 2023 featured renowned keynote speakers including Illia Polosukhin, co-founder of NEAR Protocol; Mudit Gupta, Chief Information Security Officer of Polygon; and Charles d’Haussy, CEO of dYdX Foundation.
“Every year I try to oversee what has been going on in the crypto scene,” Kang explained. “Then, I filter out the teams and speakers to see who would be the best fit for the annual presentation.”
Media partners from different countries also join the event with Kang helping out with the media coverage. On the other hand, when there are participating teams interested in hosting side events, they seek Kang out for advice on the preparations that need to be conducted in South Korea.
On the same week, called the BUIDL Week, there is ETH Seoul, a three-day hackathon. Held in Seoul, the event provides means for Korean crypto enthusiasts to connect with the global community.
Besides hosting events in South Korea, Kang flies to different cities around the world including Lisbon and Prague to host smaller crypto-related events and continues to oversee the formation of local crypto community building. She also forms relationships with several partners and potential sponsors for her next event.
As of 2023, Kang has spent seven years in the blockchain industry, positioning herself as a crypto evangelist who fosters the crypto community offline.
As all crypto enthusiasts have their crypto rabbit-hole stories, Kang shared the long journey that eventually led her to where she is now.
The word “rigorous” falls short of fully describing her years at Ewha. As an eager college student who studied international studies, Kang stepped into all areas of internship every winter and summer break starting from her freshman year.
One summer, Kang would intern at a banking company. Then one winter, she would be working at the Korea Tourism Organization.
“I joined the law firm Kim & Chang during sophomore year and I remember them saying, ‘Why are you here? You are supposed to be a senior or something,’” she chuckled.
Kang graduated a semester early since she was hired as an MnA analyst at KEB Hana Bank. After working for a year and a half, she, however, felt the urge to dive more into academics, especially in the field of financial crises.
Kang hence quit her job and after four months started studying international policy at Stanford University.
After finishing her studies at Stanford, she was scouted by KT Corporation and returned to Korea to work as a research analyst in the KT Economic Management Research Institute.
Then, Kang took a four-year maternity leave. After those years, she had the choice to either go back to her stable job or try something entirely new.
“I was very ambitious at the time, and wanted to do something meaningful — not for the money but for my actual well-being,” she said. “As I did with other internship opportunities back in the day, I took part in seminars and met new people to see what they were doing.”
It was in April 2017 that Kang stumbled upon what would steer the rest of the course of her life. She was invited to a blockchain seminar and the field sparked her interest.
After six months of baby-steps working at a small boutique consulting firm, she decided to establish her own brand, KryptoSeoul.
For Kang, blockchain is a creation of new culture and something of which she is passionate about. She has recently expanded her BUIDL Asia Conference to BUIDL Vietnam, and plans to make a global brand called KrytpoPlanet to host more events around the world.
“Creating that atmosphere where I support the community and make them happy is everything to me,” she shared. “I hope to become more global so that my brand can spread out everywhere and ultimately create my own culture.”