TL;DR:
- Securitize, KB Securities, and Optimism Foundation formalized a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to structure tokenized securities aimed at institutional investors in South Korea.
- The initial plan outlines the development of a tokenized money market fund (MMF) and a fund based on a KB Asset Management strategy on the OP Mainnet network.
- KB Securities recorded 76.5 trillion won in total assets and 6.9 trillion won in net equity as of the close of December 2025.
This Wednesday, September 23, the partnership between financial infrastructure firm Securitize, South Korean brokerage KB Securities, and Optimism Foundation was confirmed to expand tokenization in Korea.
We signed an MOU with KB Securities and @Optimism to explore tokenized securities for institutional investors in Korea.
This combines KB Securities’ distribution and capital-markets capabilities, our regulated tokenization infrastructure, and Optimism’s blockchain technology. pic.twitter.com/zkUIxwYmVm
— Securitize (@Securitize) September 23, 2026
The tripartite agreement establishes a collaborative framework geared toward the design, issuance, and distribution of regulated investment instruments on public distributed ledgers. Within this structure, KB Securities oversees product sourcing, placement analysis, and access to its domestic institutional client base. Securitize will provide its issuance management platform and transfer agency functions. Meanwhile, Optimism Foundation will integrate the technical environment through the Layer 2 network OP Mainnet.
The first asset outlined on the roadmap is a tokenized money market fund (MMF). Additionally, the entities plan to structure a second investment vehicle focused on a flagship strategy from KB Asset Management. Both instruments will exclusively target corporate and institutional clients, such as domestic insurers and pension funds.
Leadership at KB Securities announced that it is also assessing the domestic distribution of global tokenized funds previously managed on Securitize‘s infrastructure. According to a market report, this move seeks to build a direct bridge connecting South Korea’s capital markets with real-world asset (RWA) issuers already operating abroad.
Regulatory framework and on-chain asset timeline
The deployment of these instruments coincides with legislative progress in Seoul. In January 2026, the National Assembly of South Korea passed amendments to the Capital Markets Act and the Electronic Securities Act to recognize distributed ledgers as valid legal record-keeping systems for commercial securities.
The statutory framework stipulates that tokenized securities will retain their legal status as traditional investment securities, remaining under the direct oversight of the Financial Services Commission (FSC). Regulatory data cited by the participants indicates that the initial phase of the digital securities framework could come into force on February 4, 2027.
During this primary stage, regulatory guidelines will allow institutional private placements of debt and money market funds. According to technical projections from the alliance, once subsequent regulatory phases solidify, offerings could expand to publicly traded equities, American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), corporate bonds, and South Korean Treasury debt instruments.
This development marks a significant technical milestone for OP Mainnet as it serves as a settlement layer for traditional financial intermediaries across Asia. Industry reports highlight that Securitize manages more than $5 billion in tokenized assets worldwide. The alliance stands as a preparatory initiative ahead of the operational formalization of the secondary digital securities market scheduled for early 2027.
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