Token Incentives and the Architecture of Resilient Economic Systems
Decentralized systems fail not from technology, but from incentive drift.
Alexandre
Philippine
I work on the economics of coordination: how protocols get built, how they fail, and what it takes to make them work in the real world. Particularly in Korea and Japan, where the rules are different and most people get it wrong.
A brief biography
I grew up between cultures and ended up in Seoul, which turned out to be the right place for what I care about. I did a PhD in Economics at Seoul National University (innovation and technology), with time as a visiting fellow at Bocconi in Milan. Before the thesis was even finished I was already deep in the Korean blockchain world, co-organizing Korea Blockchain Week when it was Asia's flagship event.
After that the path widened: M&A at Morgan Stanley, consulting at CoinTelegraph Korea, then four years as the business-side due diligence partner for Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Web3 integration program. I also advised the OECD on Bitcoin and digital asset policy, and was named to Forbes Under 40 Leaders of the Digital Revolution in Latin America in 2025.
Today I run Kelpie Capital, a Seoul-based vehicle helping blockchain protocols enter Korea and Japan through partnerships, exchange listings, and selective investment.
That is the professional container. What I actually spend my days thinking about is why some protocols survive and most don't, and what the economic architecture underneath that looks like.
What I'm thinking about
i.
The gap between pre-launch assumptions and post-launch reality is where most crypto infrastructure dies. It's almost always economic, not technical.
ii.
In Korea and Japan, trust precedes transaction. Every Western founder I've seen fail in these markets failed for the same reason: they showed up as if the rules were the same.
iii.
Token incentive design is a branch of applied economics, not a marketing exercise. Models that treat it the other way around tend to collapse within eighteen months.
iv.
A listing is not an event. It's a position in a market. The difference between a good listing and a bad one is made in the months before and the weeks after, not on the day.
Currently
Kelpie Capital
My principal professional vehicle. A Seoul-based investment and advisory operation focused on blockchain protocols entering Korea and Japan: corporate partnerships, exchange listings, and selective co-investment.
Visit kelpie.capital →Where I've worked
2025 →
Kelpie Capital
Principal, investment, partnerships, exchange access across Korea & Japan
2020–24
Samsung Electronics
DApp Business DD Partner, Galaxy Web3 Integration Program
2020–21
OECD
Mandated External Advisor, Bitcoin & Digital Assets Policy
2019–21
CoinTelegraph Korea
Director, Consulting Services
2018–19
Korea Blockchain Week
Head of Sponsorships & Partnerships
2019
Morgan Stanley
M&A Consultant, $3.2B healthcare acquisition
2016–20
Seoul National University
PhD Economics, Innovation & Technology · Bocconi Visiting Fellow
Selected writing
Read everything on Medium→Selected press
South Korea Customs Uncovers $102M Crypto Laundering Scheme
Decrypt: quoted on Korea's 'regulate-first' enforcement under the Virtual Asset User Protection Act.
Los 40 jóvenes top reconocidos por liderar el futuro de la revolución digital
Forbes Argentina: named to Latin America's leaders under 40 list.
Samsung Blockchain Wallet Adds Support for Elrond Token
The Block: on the Samsung Galaxy Web3 integration program.
A colophon
BasedSeoul, South Korea. Some of the time, Tokyo.
OriginRaised between cultures. A long time in Asia.
LanguagesEnglish and French. Working Korean, a little Japanese.
ReadingEconomic history and anything on coordination failures.
AsideCollector of sealed Pokémon TCG, mostly Japanese-language print runs.