Meritz Securities forged a strategic partnership with Ripple to explore bringing institutional digital asset custody and tokenization infrastructure into South Korea’s capital markets.
Meritz Securities stated that the agreement will cover a review of Ripple Custody and the firm’s tokenization infrastructure for potential deployment in Korea under current securities rules and digital asset regulations. Both parties signed the contract on Oct. 1 at the Meritz Securities headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, with executives like CEO Jang Won jae and Ripple President Monica Long in attendance.
On October 7, the securities firm disclosed the partnership while exploring several digital asset ventures ahead of upcoming regulatory changes in South Korea. Areas currently under consideration include spot crypto exchange-traded funds, fractional investment products, tokenized securities, digital asset trading platforms, and won-denominated stablecoins.
Meritz stated that collaboration with Ripple will initially remain within activities permitted under current securities regulations. The partners could then expand their cooperation in stages as South Korea refines its digital asset rules.
Meritz Securities to Study Ripple Custody and Tokenization
Ripple’s institutional custody and tokenization technology forms the core of the agreement. Both Meritz and Ripple will investigate how the infrastructure currently provided to financial institutions abroad can fit into the Korean capital market.
Ripple Custody supplies infrastructure for institutions to store and manage digital assets, while pairing these custody offerings with tokenization services as the firm collaborates with banks and other regulated financial institutions.
That institutional business has expanded across the Asia Pacific region. In September, Ripple formed a partnership with SettleMint, combining Ripple Custody with infrastructure for issuing and managing tokenized assets. The companies originally aimed this offering at regulated financial institutions throughout the area.
SettleMint’s Digital Asset Platform manages issuance, compliance, settlement, and servicing, whereas Ripple Custody handles asset storage and governance. Institutions can leverage this combined infrastructure to oversee every phase of a tokenized asset’s lifecycle without depending on separate systems for each individual function.
Ripple has also deployed its custody technology directly with financial institutions. South African lender Absa Corporate and Investment Banking launched digital asset custody using Ripple’s technology in September, nearly a year after both companies initially announced their partnership.
Meritz has announced no specific digital asset product or launch date under the new agreement. Their initial efforts center on evaluating where Ripple’s infrastructure fits within South Korea’s existing regulations.
Ripple Previously Tested Tokenized Bonds in South Korea
The Meritz agreement follows Ripple’s previous collaborations with Korean financial institutions, which included a project involving tokenized government bonds.
Kyobo Life, one of South Korea’s largest insurers, intended to use the system to test near-real-time settlement instead of relying on the standard two-day process. Additionally, the companies explored using Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin to power payment rails for the project.
Ripple Custody formed the core infrastructure for the Korean bond project, which meant the arrangement omitted the need for XRP to act as the settlement asset.
Since then, South Korea has witnessed other traditional financial institutions develop tokenized products. In September, KB Securities partnered with Securitize and the Optimism Foundation to build tokenized funds tailored for Korean institutional investors.
Their initial planned product is a tokenized money market fund on OP Mainnet, while a product rooted in a KB Asset Management strategy sits on the roadmap. Future domestic regulatory developments might also allow them to consider stocks, corporate bonds, and Korean government bonds.
Another initiative involving Shinhan Asset Management and Plume centered on a won-denominated tokenized fund backed by an ultra-short-term bond fund. They structured this proof of concept offshore to exclude Korean residents, planning no token issuance or distribution during the test.
South Korea’s security token amendments will take effect on Feb. 4, 2027, establishing a legal framework for tokenized securities as financial firms ready their products and infrastructure for the new rules.
Meritz Is Considering ETFs, Stablecoins and Crypto Trading Infrastructure
Meritz Securities is looking beyond custody and tokenization as the firm prepares for digital assets to merge more closely with regulated finance.
The company stated it is evaluating spot digital asset ETFs, fractional investments, security token offerings, trading platforms, and won-denominated stablecoins. Their agreement with Ripple forms part of that preparation, although Meritz has not committed to launching any of those services yet.
South Korea’s financial sector has increasingly turned its attention toward won-based stablecoins as policymakers figure out how to regulate locally denominated digital money.
Ripple already holds a stablecoin presence in the country via RLUSD. In July, Upbit introduced RLUSD trading pairs against the Korean won, Bitcoin, and USDT, while supporting deposits and withdrawals through the XRP Ledger.
Ripple has utilized the stablecoin separately from XRP across several of its institutional projects. Consequently, financial institutions can adopt Ripple’s infrastructure for custody, tokenization, or stablecoin settlement without needing to purchase XRP as part of the arrangement.
Meritz refrained from clarifying whether XRP, RLUSD, or the XRP Ledger will feature in any upcoming services born from its alliance with Ripple.
Partnership to Move Ahead With South Korea’s Regulatory Changes
Meritz intends to operate within its current securities business permissions while keeping a close eye on evolving changes within South Korea’s digital asset framework.
An official from the company noted that the partnership establishes a foundation for combining Ripple’s global digital asset infrastructure with Meritz Securities’ capital market capabilities. The brokerage plans to roll out digital asset financial services in stages as domestic regulations evolve.
Established in 2012, Ripple supplies blockchain-based financial infrastructure across more than 90 countries. Its institutional division now spans custody, payments, tokenization, stablecoins, and various other services utilized by financial firms.
Fiona Murray, who serves as Ripple’s managing director for Asia Pacific, stated that the firm will collaborate with Meritz to examine how digital asset infrastructure can drive the ongoing growth of South Korea’s capital markets.
XRP displayed minimal immediate reaction to the Meritz partnership, changing hands near $1.47 on Oct. 7 following a slight dip over the previous 24 hours. Technical indicators present a mixed outlook, although moving averages and the EMA composite currently favor a bullish trend.
The initial major resistance currently hovers around $1.48, and traders anticipate that pushing past that threshold could clear a path toward $1.53. At present, the Meritz agreement itself omits any specification regarding whether XRP will feature in products born from the partnership.
