Ripple partners with Meritz Securities to explore tokenization in South Korea

Meritz Securities, a prominent South Korean brokerage, has entered into a strategic partnership with Ripple to investigate the application of Ripple's custody solutions and tokenization infrastructure within Korea's capital markets. The agreement was officially signed on October 7, 2026, at Meritz's headquarters in Seoul, with key executives from both firms present.

The timing of this collaboration is closely linked to South Korea's upcoming tokenized-securities regulations, which are slated to become effective on February 4, 2027. Both companies aim to have the necessary infrastructure in place to capitalize on the expanded commercial opportunities that these new rules are expected to unlock.

Initially, the partnership will focus on a review of existing securities regulations, with plans for broader cooperation to follow as the digital-asset landscape in Korea evolves. This approach mirrors Ripple's strategy in other markets, such as its work with Garanti BBVA in Turkey, where custody services were established alongside RLUSD rails, a model that Meritz could potentially replicate in South Korea.

Meritz Securities is actively exploring a range of digital-asset services, including spot digital-asset ETFs, fractional investment products, security token offerings (STOs), digital-asset trading platforms, and won-denominated stablecoins. The partnership with Ripple is intended to provide the foundational custody and tokenization backbone for these potential offerings.

This development occurs within a growing ecosystem of institutional tokenization in Korea. Recently, Securitize and LG CNS announced a partnership focused on tokenized assets and stablecoins. Additionally, a pilot program for stablecoin transfers between Japan and South Korea was completed by SBI and Kyobo, further integrating the region into cross-border digital asset use cases. Fiona Murray, Ripple's Asia-Pacific managing director, stated that Ripple would explore how its digital-asset infrastructure can support Korea’s capital markets. Neither firm has confirmed specific roles for XRP, RLUSD, or XRPL in this partnership.

Ripple's expansion strategy in Asia, as demonstrated by this Meritz deal, prioritizes establishing custody services first, followed by broader service offerings as regulatory frameworks permit. This is consistent with Ripple's prior work with Absa CIB in South Africa and its partnership with SettleMint to enhance tokenization adoption in traditional finance. Ripple has also expanded its prime brokerage services with Brevan Howard, positioning itself as a comprehensive institutional counterparty.