Ripple expands its presence in South Korea by partnering with Meritz Securities

Meritz证券与Ripple达成战略合作，探索将机构级数字资产托管及代币化基础设施引入韩国资本市场

Meritz证券已与Ripple签署战略合作协议，旨在探讨如何将机构级数字资产托管服务和代币化基础设施引入韩国资本市场。双方将首先在现有的证券法规和数字资产监管框架内开展合作，随着韩国新法规的出台，合作范围预计将进一步扩展。

合作背景与核心内容

根据Meritz证券披露的信息，该协议涵盖对Ripple Custody及其代币化基础设施在现有证券规则和数字资产监管下在韩国应用的可行性审查。双方于10月1日在首尔汝矣岛的Meritz证券总部签署协议，Meritz证券首席执行官张元宰（Jang Won Jae）与Ripple总裁Monica Long等高管出席了签约仪式。公司于10月7日正式公开了这一合作关系。

作为其数字资产战略的一部分，Meritz证券正在审查多项业务，包括现货加密货币ETF、代币化证券、交易平台以及以韩元计价的稳定币。此次与Ripple的合作将是这些准备工作的重要组成部分。

Ripple在韩国的先行实践

Ripple has previously cooperated with a number of financial institutions in the City of London on tokenization projects, including the tokenization government bond project with Kyobo Life and the Ripple Custody application case. In April this year, it was reported that Ripple reached an agreement with Education Insurance Life Insurance to use Ripple Custody to test government bond settlement. The project aims to move the holding, transfer and settlement of tokenized South Korean government bonds to blockchain infrastructure to achieve more real-time settlement than the standard two-day process. In addition, the two parties are also exploring the use of Ripple's stablecoin RLUSD for payment clearing.

It is worth noting that in this Korean bond project, the main infrastructure involved is Ripple Custody, which means that the arrangement does not need to use XRP as a settlement asset.

Expansion of institutional business in the Asia-Pacific region

Ripple's institutional custody and tokenization technologies are at the core of this agreement. Meritz Securities and Ripple will examine how the infrastructure currently provided to overseas financial institutions can be applied to South Korean capital markets. Ripple Custy provides institutions with an architecture to store and manage digital assets, and is gradually combining custody and tokenization services to serve banks and other regulated financial institutions.

This institutional business continues to grow in the Asia-Pacific region. In September, Ripple and SettleMint entered into a partnership to combine Ripple Custody with the infrastructure to issue and manage tokenized assets, initially to regulated financial institutions in the region. SettleMint's digital asset platform covers issuance, compliance, clearing and services, while Ripple Cust is responsible for asset storage and governance. Organizations can use this comprehensive infrastructure to manage the life cycle of tokenized assets without relying on decentralized systems.

Other developments and regulatory prospects in the Korean market

South Korean traditional financial companies are also actively deploying tokenized products. KB Securities signed an agreement with Securitize and Optimism Foundation in September this year to develop tokenized funds for Korean institutional investors. It plans to first launch a tokenized money market fund based on OP Mainnet. In addition, Shinhan Asset Management's cooperation with Plume focuses on Korean Won-denominated tokenized funds backed by ultra-short-term bond funds, although the proof-of-concept phase is conducted under an overseas structure and does not issue tokens to South Korean residents.

Amendments to South Korea's Security Tokens Law are expected to take effect on February 4, 2027, which will provide a legal framework for tokenized securities and encourage financial institutions to prepare products and infrastructure around the new regulations.

Meritz Securities Future Plans

除托管和代币化外，Meritz证券正为数字资产与受监管金融体系的深度融合做准备。公司正在审查现货数字资产ETF、碎片化投资产品、证券型代币发行、交易平台及韩元稳定币等业务。虽然与Ripple的协议构成了准备工作的一部分，但Meritz尚未承诺推出任何具体服务。

以韩元计价的稳定币已成为韩国金融业关注的重点领域。Ripple已通过RLUSD在韩国建立稳定币存在，Upbit交易所已于7月上线RLUSD对韩元、比特币及USDT的交易对，并通过XRP Ledger支持存取款。在某些Ripple机构项目中，稳定币的使用独立于XRP，这意味着机构可采用Ripple的基础设施进行托管、代币化或稳定币结算，而无需购买XRP。

Meritz证券表示，将在现有证券业务许可范围内开展工作，同时密切关注韩国数字资产框架的变化。公司官员指出，此次合作为结合Ripple的全球数字资产基础设施与Meritz证券的资本市场能力奠定了基础。券商将根据国内规则的逐步发展，分阶段筹备数字资产金融服务。

市场反应与展望

Fiona Murray, managing director of Ripple Asia Pacific, said the company will discuss with Meritz how digital asset infrastructure can support the continued development of South Korea's capital markets. After the news was announced, XRP prices responded flatly, trading at about US$1.47 on October 7, after falling in the previous 24 hours. Technical indicators show mixed long and short signals, but moving averages and EMA composite indicators are currently biased towards bullish. The current main resistance level is around $1.48. If this level breaks through, prices are expected to look towards $1.53. As of now, the Meritz agreement itself does not clearly state whether XRP will be used in future products.