This past weekend, Polymesh partner BDACS turned Busan’s BEXCO Exhibition Center into a buzzing hive for creative collaboration and blockchain innovation, hosting the city’s first-ever Ideathon under the theme of “multichain-based digital services.”

Over 200 students, developers, and blockchain entrepreneurs converged for the BDACS 1 Day Ideathon, where teams pitched projects honed over weeks of online mentoring, intense preparation, and repeated iteration.  

Supported by Busan Metropolitan City and Busan Ilbo, the Ideathon brought together blockchain platforms – including Avalanche, GK8 by Galaxy, and Polymesh – as well as Woori Bank, BDAN, and academics from Pusan National University and Sogang University to mentor and educate participants. 

Representing Polymesh, Nick Cafaro (Head of Product) and Zoë Poole (Senior Marketing Manager) joined as judges and mentors supporting the next generation of talent in Korea to explore multi-chain applications with real-world value.

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Real-world industry use cases

What made the Ideathon unique was its focus on practical, industry-ready use cases over purely ideative applications. Teams explored how multi-chain infrastructure could unlock new efficiencies and opportunities in various industries with local relevance in Korea, including trade, finance, and payments, as well as tourism, music, and workforce management. 

The Grand Prize winner, Triangle, exemplified this approach with a proposed digital solution to trade finance review automation explicitly conceived for the local Busan Port’s shipping industry. 

While blockchain’s implementation in global trade is complicated – the trade industry inherits a confusing legal legacy –  Triangle’s initial idea to use Polymesh as the underlying chain for record keeping and compliant transactions highlights why Ideathons matter. They’re a place to dream big, test ideas, and encounter real-world feedback necessary to further hone one’s thinking.

Triangle’s focus on Polymesh’s compliance framework shows sophisticated thinking about regulated industries, even as the path to implementation remains complex. While wholesale transformation of global trade may take decades, there are other near-term opportunities where Polymesh’s native compliance functionality can deliver value, such as tokenized invoices using non-fungible tokens (NFTs).  Pilot programs at local ports like Busan could offer valuable proof-of-concepts for these applications. 

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Highlights and Winners 

As noted above, the Grand Prize went to Triangle, but seven other standout teams also received awards:

• Excellence Awards: NextWave Busan, Quantus
• Merit Awards: ChainBridge, TxME
• Encouragement Awards: MemenToken, WTK
• Special Award (Busan Mayor’s Award): Sparkle

Triangle shared the following remark in their acceptance speech: 

“My idea came from a personal wish to see Korea take the lead in digitalizing trade-related documents. As more than half of the nation’s trade volume flows through Busan, I believe it’s deeply meaningful for such innovation to begin here.”

Triangle wasn’t the only team to make a heartfelt nod to Busan. Sparkle – a team of undergraduates from Pusan National University’s Department of Business Administration – cited Busan’s reputation as a regulation-free blockchain zone informed their choice of university, expressing deep gratitude to  BDACS for hosting the Ideathon, the first opportunity for young participants like them to engage with the local blockchain ecosystem. 

It was a touching reminder that the future of this industry involves the next generation of talent, and reveals that Busan’s vision to become a blockchain hub is working. Young talent is choosing to come to Busan precisely because of its blockchain involvement, and entrepreneurs are conceptualizing projects tailored to pressing issues in local industries. 

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Polymesh’s Commitment to Korea

The Ideathon’s success extended well beyond the competition itself, generating strong local and national interest with over 50 media features in Korean outlets, including a feature in Busan Ilbo, a KNN television broadcast, and a MTN interview where Nick discussed how Korea’s leadership in stablecoin legislation will impact RWAs and STO adoption.

“Stablecoin regulation lays the foundation for tokenized financial products because it ensures that digital cash and digital securities can safely interoperate. Once clear rules are in place for stablecoins, institutionalization is only a matter of time.”
– Nick Cafaro, Head of Product, Polymesh Labs

For Polymesh, the event underscored our commitment to fostering compliant tokenization and expanding in the Korean market. 

Over the past year, Polymesh has sponsored Korea Blockchain Week, supported BDACS at industry events, conducted local user research, and released a Korean-language user guide to make our platform more accessible. 

Zoë’s current presence in Korea also reflects our long-term investment in building relationships with credible partners and understanding local needs and priorities. 

Supporting BDACS’ 1 Day Ideathon marked a natural continuation of these initiatives, and an opportunity to connect directly with Korean talent actively exploring how blockchains like Polymesh can power compliant, institutional-grade applications.

We’d like to extend thanks to BDACS for hosting an inspiring event, as well as to the partners, mentors, and participants who contributed.

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📺 Watch the KNN coverage: KNN News (Korean)

📰 Official Press Release: Business Korea Article

🎙️ MTN Interview with Polymesh: MTN News