Terry Kim is the co-founder of BDACS, a digital asset custody company for institutional clients. He has held several executive roles within the company, including Chief Strategy Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Co-CEO, and is a notable figure in the development of South Korea's digital asset infrastructure. ^{[1] [2]}

Education

Kim's academic background combines engineering and law. He attended Cornell University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Biological Engineering and a Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering. He subsequently obtained a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) from the American University, Washington College of Law. ^{[1] [3] [12]}

Career

Prior to his work in the digital asset industry, Terry Kim was a partner at Lee & Ko, LLC, a prominent law firm in South Korea. In January 2022, he co-founded BDACS Inc. with Hongyul (Harry) Ryoo in Busan, which is designated as Korea's only blockchain regulatory-free special zone. The company was established to provide secure, regulated digital asset custody, trade settlement, and market access solutions for institutional investors, addressing a need for reliable infrastructure in the region.

As a leader at BDACS, Kim has been instrumental in guiding the company's strategic direction and growth. He has been cited with various executive titles, including Chief Strategy Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Co-CEO. Under his leadership, BDACS achieved key milestones, including receiving its Information Security Management System (ISMS) provisional certification in November 2023, a critical step toward obtaining a full Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license in South Korea. In January 2024, the company announced the completion of a seed funding round with investors such as Prodigy Investment, the Blizzard Fund, Mask Ventures, and IDG Capital Blockchain.

Kim has also overseen the formation of significant strategic partnerships. In May 2023, BDACS signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Polymesh to develop a security token project focused on K-culture, designed to operate within a regulatory sandbox. On the collaboration, Kim stated, "Polymesh and BDACS will collaborate closely with regulators and industry experts to establish new benchmarks for security tokens and digital asset custody, driving blockchain innovation in Korea and beyond." In January 2024, BDACS announced a partnership with Avalanche to provide institutional custody for Avalanche-native assets and staking support. Regarding this partnership, Kim commented, "Partnering with Avalanche is a logical choice, given its significant and expanding presence in the Korean market... Through this collaboration, we look forward to providing businesses, institutions, and entrepreneurs in the Web3 space with the tools needed to thrive in Korea and internationally." ^{[2] [5] [1] [3] [4]}

Public Appearances

Kim is a frequent speaker at industry events, focusing on institutional adoption of digital assets and regulatory developments in Korea. He was scheduled as a keynote speaker for Korea Blockchain Week 2025 on September 23, 2025, with a session titled "Core Values and Prime Custody in Korea’s Institutional Moment" on a stage co-hosted by BDACS and Woori Bank.

Additionally, he was slated to appear as a panelist at "Stradivarius Meets Gagliano in Seoul," an official side event of Korea Blockchain Week on September 24, 2025. The event, described as Korea's first blockchain concert, was co-hosted by BDACS, Galaxy Digital, and Animoca Brands. The panel, which also featured Yat Siu of Animoca Brands and Jason Urban of Galaxy Digital, was set to discuss financial innovations enabled by the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs), such as the "Empress Caterina" Stradivarius violin. ^{[6] [1]}