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'Meet good people and have good conversations.' This is the basic purpose of Blooming Lunch. We meet the good people of the crypto scene (Crypto Scene, the blockchain·virtual asset ecosystem) and convey their work and life.

When describing Justin Hyun, co-CEO of Affluent, one cannot omit the TON Foundation. TON is a Telegram-based layer-1 blockchain that was selected as Telegram's official blockchain partner in 2023. Hyun served as Director of Institutional Growth at the TON Foundation for about three years from 2022 until last year.

Afterward, he left the TON Foundation and co-founded the TON-based decentralized finance (DeFi) project Affluent. Affluent's core goal is to expand DeFi services into the Telegram ecosystem, which has monthly active users (MAU) of up to 1 billion.

We met Hyun at Yujeong Restaurant in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. It is a place BTS frequented during their trainee days and is considered a must-see stop on so-called 'BTS tours' that visit major BTS-related sites. Inside the restaurant were actually posters and goods left by BTS fans from around the world.

Hyun arrived at the restaurant in shorts and a T-shirt, and we ordered two servings of the restaurant's signature dish, Yujeong ssambap. He said, "I come here often because it's near the office," adding, "Korean food has a good nutritional balance, and my health has definitely improved while I've been in Korea."

From Deloitte and BlockFi to TON

Hyun is Korean-Canadian. His family immigrated to Canada when he was eight. After finishing high school in Canada, he majored in accounting at a university in the United States, and then worked for five years as an accountant at Deloitte, one of the Big Four accounting firms.

He entered the crypto industry in 2021 when he worked at the U.S. cryptocurrency lender BlockFi as a financial strategy officer. Hyun recalled, "At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, I spent some time in Canada," adding, "a Canadian classmate I had known since childhood was working in the blockchain industry, so I naturally became interested."

While we were talking, the black pork stir-fry with spicy pork arrived on the hot plate. The sweet and spicy stir-fried pork paired well with the fresh ssam greens served alongside it. The side dishes, mainly made of seasoned vegetables, tasted clean and neat. There were also quite a few foreign customers inside the restaurant eating the same pork ssam-bap.

Hyun continued speaking as he wrapped the stir-fried pork in the greens. He said, "BlockFi was a centralized finance (CeFi) company," adding, "I moved there wanting to challenge the blockchain industry, but the actual work wasn't much different from traditional finance (TradFi), so I felt disillusioned." He continued, "Through an introduction from an acquaintance I got to know some TON developers by chance, and looking back it was an amazing decision, but at the time I just felt, 'Let's give this a try.'"

Thirst for DeFi grows, 'Affluent' founded

Hyun officially joined the TON Foundation in 2022. That was before the TON Foundation officially launched in Switzerland in 2023, when the organization had not yet been properly structured. He said, "In the early days of working at the TON Foundation, I was in charge of incubating TON-based projects," adding, "By incubating several projects, I saw the potential of TON-based DeFi."

His thirst for DeFi grew, and last year he left the TON Foundation and co-founded the TON-based DeFi project Affluent together with the domestic blockchain company B-Harvest. Hyun said, "I met B-Harvest when I came to Korea to attend a blockchain event two years ago, and we shared a consensus on the need for a TON-based DeFi project, so we joined forces."

According to Hyun, Affluent is a third-generation DeFi lending platform. DeFi lending platforms have evolved from first-generation platforms like Aave, which simply provide asset lending services, to second-generation platforms like Morpho, which add asset management concepts to lending.

He said, "Affluent partners with asset management firms to help maximize the returns on borrowed assets," adding, "It is characterized by the introduction of a 'trustless' model that increases transparency in asset management and fundamentally blocks the possibility of embezzlement."

After the meal, we headed to the specialty cafe Popular Coffee Roasters near Hakdong Station on Line 7. It's about a 10-minute walk from Yujeong Restaurant. At the cafe we ordered two filter coffees brewed with the 'El Salvador Malacara C Pacamara Natural' beans. The menu's tasting notes listed grapefruit, cherry, blackberry, and others.

Hyun laughed, saying, "It's symbolic to talk about cryptocurrencies while drinking coffee brewed from El Salvador beans." El Salvador was the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender in 2021.

Seated at the cafe, we continued the conversation about the 'trustless model.' The trustless model is one of the core aspects of decentralization and means a system where transactions can be safely conducted without trusting intermediaries such as institutions. Hyun said, "Blockchain 'trustlessness' doesn't mean 'we can't trust intermediaries,' but 'we don't have to trust them,'" adding, "I think the trustless model won't just become the future of finance — it must become the future."

TON-based DeFi demand will grow

When asked why Affluent chose TON as its blockchain while most existing DeFi lending platforms are based on Ethereum, Hyun answered, "Telegram is a communication tool for 1 billion people worldwide, so in terms of accessibility it has advantages over any other blockchain."

He added, "The biggest obstacle to existing DeFi services was that ordinary users had to learn about blockchain to access them," saying, "The sustainability of DeFi and all blockchain mainnets ultimately depends on how easily ordinary users can access them in everyday life."

The network's growth potential was also a reason he chose TON. Hyun said, "Telegram, unlike other social media, has a philosophy of not monetizing user data, so it has to enhance revenue models through blockchains like TON," adding, "TON will become increasingly integrated with Telegram," and predicted, "As blockchain technology spreads, demand for TON-based DeFi services will inevitably grow in regions that use Telegram as a main messenger, such as Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia."

Finally, I asked about the appeal of the crypto scene. Hyun said, "The biggest advantage of the current crypto scene is that it doesn't look at people's backgrounds like other industries," explaining, "When hiring talent, there's an atmosphere of focusing on 'how much one can contribute' regardless of race, academic background, etc." He said, "Simply put, opportunities are open to anyone," adding, "There are many exceptionally smart people, so it's stimulating to work every day."

After the interview, Hyun was the first to stand up. Slinging his backpack, he said with a smile, "I've heard that a successful person is someone who is happy going to work and happy coming home," adding, "Working in the crypto scene now, I feel like I've become that kind of person." He then hurried out of the cafe, saying he had a meeting at the office soon.

This interview did not receive support or monetary compensation from any specific restaurant or brand and was conducted without commercial intent. The 'Blooming Lunch' column aims to present informal, free-form interviews conducted at the interviewee's favorite regular restaurants.