Asia Morning Briefing: Korean Air Joins Wingbits as the First Major Airline Partner

Korean Air has partnered with Swedish DePIN startup Wingbits to use encrypted, real-time flight-tracking data as part of its research into advanced air mobility. The collaboration, Wingbits’ first with a major airline, underscores growing interest in decentralized aviation infrastructure.

Under the agreement, Wingbits will provide ADS-B data to Korean Air’s ACROSS air traffic coordination system, covering Incheon FIR, North America, and Europe. The data will help the airline explore how drones, cargo aircraft, and future eVTOL taxis can safely navigate increasingly crowded skies.

Wingbits operates a decentralized network of cryptographically secured ADS-B receivers, rewarding contributors with tokens for placing hardware in strategic locations. The startup raised $5.6 million in January, led by Bullish Capital, parent company of CoinDesk.

“Aviation relies heavily on this data, yet historically it was provided for free while major networks sold for hundreds of millions with no return to the community,” said co-founder Robin Wingårdh at Korea Blockchain Week.

Wingårdh noted that proper incentives drive superior coverage:
“When contributors are rewarded, receivers are installed in optimal locations—rooftops, businesses, and high-demand areas—yielding more than double the coverage per antenna compared to competitors.”

For Korean Air, the collaboration addresses both current operations and future mobility planning. Its R&D team is experimenting with low-latency, secure data to support emerging air mobility systems.

“Flying taxis, cargo drones, and other urban air vehicles are coming, and there’s currently no infrastructure capable of tracking this mix of aviation and advanced mobility,” Wingårdh added.

The partnership highlights the potential for blockchain-backed networks to support the next generation of urban air transport, bridging crypto-native technology with mainstream aviation applications.

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