KB Securities of South Korea has signed a memorandum of understanding with tokenization platform Securitize and Ethereum Layer 2 network Optimism to issue tokenized financial products for institutional investors in South Korea on the OP Mainnet. The first products will include a tokenized money market fund and a fund based on KB Asset Management's flagship strategy. This marks KB Securities' first public foray into the tokenization business.

The roles of the three parties are clearly defined. KB Securities will handle product supply, underwriting, issuance, sales, and institutional client engagement. Securitize will provide the tokenization platform and serve as the fund manager and transfer agent. Optimism will be responsible for the underlying OP Stack technology, system integration, client management, and marketing support. This is reportedly the second collaboration between OP Mainnet and Securitize to serve institutional issuers.

The product rollout will occur in two phases. The first phase will issue the tokenized money market fund and the KB Asset Management strategy fund. The second phase will expand to tokenized stocks, ADRs, corporate bonds, and South Korean government bonds once the regulatory framework for tokenized securities in South Korea is established. KB Securities is also considering introducing overseas-issued tokenized fund products to South Korea for local institutions.

The regulatory window has opened. The South Korean National Assembly amended the Electronic Securities Act and the Capital Markets Act on January 15, 2026, with new regulations for tokenized securities set to take effect in February 2027, led by the Financial Services Commission and implemented in three phases. The first phase will cover institutional private placement money market funds, private debt, digitally tokenized non-listed stocks through trust structures, and publicly offered small fragmented investment securities. The second phase will expand to public securities. The third phase will introduce on-chain stablecoin settlement to achieve synchronized delivery of securities and funds. Tokenized securities will be classified as securities and will not be taxed as crypto assets, allowing existing brokerages to conduct business under their current licenses.

Partner scale: Tokenized assets on the Securitize platform exceed $5 billion, with partners including BlackRock, Apollo, BNY, Hamilton Lane, and KKR. BlackRock's tokenized fund BUIDL is issued and managed by Securitize. OP Mainnet was launched in December 2021. KB Securities CEO Kang Jin-doo stated that this agreement lays the foundation for tokenized securities targeting local institutional investors. Securitize co-founder and CEO Carlos Domingo noted that South Korea is one of the most mature capital markets globally. OP Labs co-founder and CEO Jing Wang remarked that KB Securities' choice of OP Mainnet for its first tokenized product indicates that this model is viable outside the dollar market.

From a market mechanism perspective, this is a regulatory-driven proactive layout. The first products will enter through institutional private placement money market funds, aligning perfectly with the business scope of the new regulations' first phase, targeting institutional investors such as South Korean insurance companies, pension funds, and corporate finance departments. KB Securities will earn issuance and sales fees, Securitize will earn platform, management, and transfer agent service fees, while OP Mainnet will benefit from on-chain transaction and settlement traffic. The pressured parties include two types: those South Korean brokerage firms that have not yet publicly engaged in tokenization, and local fragmented investment startups that rely on a single license and lack institutional distribution channels. The new regulations allow existing licensed brokerages to conduct business directly, concentrating channel advantages among large financial groups.

Source: Public Information