Top Firms Pivot After South Korea Legalizes Tokenized Securities
South Korea’s National Assembly approved amendments in mid-January to the Electronic Securities Act and the Capital Markets Act, formally integrating tokenized securities into the country’s financial rulebook. The move follows a stalled effort in 2023 and gives firms a clear legal path for issuing, trading and custodizing blockchain-based securities under existing capital markets oversight.
Market incumbents are already repositioning: banks, exchanges, asset managers and fintechs are exploring token issuance, custody solutions and compliant secondary markets. The change matters because it reduces regulatory uncertainty, could shorten settlement times, enable fractional ownership and attract new capital — but it also forces legacy players to upgrade compliance, custody and operational tooling to operate on-chain within Korea’s regulated environment.