Coinbase Taps Into South Korea’s Creator Economy With New AI Tools for Influencers
Coinbase has made a strategic move into the booming South Korean creator economy. | Credit: Jean Chung / Getty Images.
Key Takeaways
- Coinbase and BINARY Korea have joined forces to develop a new Onchain Engagement Protocol.
- The new protocol will integrate Base and Coinbase Wallet into BINARY’s fan engagement platform, THEUS.
- Alongside Web3 functionality, the platform will integrate new AI tools to help influencers connect with fans and manage interactions.
Coinbase has forged a new partnership with HYBE subsidiary BINARY Korea aimed at transforming South Korea’s growing creator economy.
The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop the Onchain Engagement Protocol. This new platform integrates AI and Web3 technology to help bloggers, influencers, and other digital creators drive engagement.
New AI Tools
In a press release announcing the latest collaboration with Coinbase, HYBE describes AI features to help influencers discover and manage fan interactions.
HYBE outlines specific AI tools. One tool, AI-Powered Influencer Discovery, will use advanced models to identify and connect emerging influencers with supporters. Another tool, Autonomous Engagement Management, will utilize AI agents to manage fan interactions and automate the distribution of unspecified digital rewards.
What Is BINARY Korea?
BINARY Korea, the software arm of entertainment conglomerate and K-pop powerhouse HYBE Corporation, is focused on merging entertainment and technology to enhance the creator-fan experience.
Its creator-fandom platform, THEUS, allows creators to communicate with fans actively. Creators have dedicated spaces where they can upload and stream their content and host online events.
Launched earlier this year, HYBE claims over 50,000 users have already signed up to THEUS. Creators that have joined the platform include the YouTube production studio CheezeFilm and TikTok influencer Sisteryell.
The new Engagement Protocol will be integrated with THEUS to power “rewards, donations, and incentives,” likely to be payments and potentially NFTs. Under the hood, it will run on Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer 2 Base using Coinbase wallets.
The Web3 Creator Ecosystem
Blockchain technologies hold significant potential for influencers, giving them a way to connect with fans and monetize their content outside of traditional social media apps and their limited revenue opportunities.
However, previous platforms like the now-defunct platform friend.tech largely failed to gain traction beyond existing Web3 communities and only really proved popular within the crypto space.
South Korea’s Creator Economy
The success of Coinbase’s latest South Korean venture rests on its ability to convince non-crypto native THEUS users to embrace concepts like stablecoin payments and NFTs.
The good news for Engagement Protocol is that South Korea is already a fairly crypto-savvy nation, ranking among the top 20 in Chainalysis’ 2024 crypto adoption index .
South Korea’s creator economy is also booming. According to data, 39,366 online creators and live streamers earned 1.142 trillion won in 2022 , marking the first time the sector surpassed a trillion won. However, the majority of income is concentrated among a handful of top earners, with just 393 creators accounting for nearly 30% of the total.
With platforms like YouTube only paying meaningful royalties to channels that rack up millions of views and sponsorship deals typically reserved for the most popular influencers, this pay gap demonstrates the need for more equitable economic models that Web3 could potentially provide.
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