Archive · 4 Sep 2026
South Korea Sets February 2027 Tokenised Securities Launch
South Korea wants to represent some regular investments as digital tokens on a blockchain.
These investments could include bonds, funds and certain shares.
The tokens would still be treated as regulated securities, not like Bitcoin.
The first part of the plan is scheduled to begin in February 2027.
It will start with a limited selection of investment products.
People will face limits on how much they can buy.
Later, more publicly offered securities could be added.
The final goal is to complete both the investment transfer and payment on the same digital system.
That last step depends partly on South Korea creating rules for stablecoins.
South Korea plans to launch its tokenised-securities market in February 2027 under revised securities rules.
The first phase will cover selected private funds, private bonds, unlisted shares and fractional investment securities.
Individual subscriptions will be capped at 30 million won or 5% of an issue, whichever is lower.
A second phase could expand tokenisation to all publicly offered securities, but no date has been set.
The final phase would enable blockchain-based settlement using stablecoins, depending on future legislation.
- Who
- South Korea’s Financial Services Commission and Financial Supervisory Service, along with licensed financial institutions and securities firms.
- What
- A three-stage plan to introduce tokenised securities and eventually blockchain-based settlement.
- When
- The first stage is scheduled for February 2027; dates for later stages have not been set.
- Where
- South Korea’s securities market, using distributed-ledger infrastructure linked with existing market systems.
- Why
- To create infrastructure for issuing and trading traditional securities digitally and potentially settle assets and payments on the same ledger.
- First-stage date
- February 2027, when revised securities rules take effect.
- Initial products
- Private money-market funds, private bonds, trust-held unlisted shares and publicly offered fractional investment securities.
- Individual subscription cap
- The lower of 30 million won, approximately $22,000, or 5% of an issue.
- Over-the-counter limit
- Annual net purchases on over-the-counter exchanges will be limited to about $74,000.
- Second stage
- Expansion to all publicly offered securities, with timing dependent on initial results, adoption and stablecoin legislation.
- Final stage
- On-chain settlement of securities and payments, potentially using stablecoins.
- Infrastructure
- Koscom is developing the shared KoSTO tokenised-securities platform, with several securities firms participating.