Meritz and Ripple explore custody and tokenization within Korean securities rules

Meritz Securities and Ripple will test custody and tokenisation within Korea’s current securities rules, starting with Ripple Custody and related infrastructure. Expansion will proceed in stages as regulations evolve. The agreement was signed on October 14 and is described as an infrastructure partnership rather than a driver of immediate XRP trading volume.

Scope and initial focus

The companies will evaluate Ripple Custody inside Meritz’s existing permissions and regulated workflows. Meritz is assessing additional avenues that may follow separate approvals and timelines:

• Spot ETFs
• Fractional investments
• Security tokens
• Won-linked stablecoins

These are not all products launched under the current agreement.

Operational rationale

Custody is the foundation for tokenised securities: brokers must safeguard assets, enforce internal approval controls and provide auditors clear evidence of client-holding movements. Korean financial institutions prioritize keeping these processes within a regulated operating model.

Significance and market impact

This is Ripple’s first agreement with a Korean securities firm, building on prior relationships elsewhere in the country’s financial sector. The near-term impact centers on infrastructure readiness rather than trading activity. The commercial outcome depends on which services Meritz ultimately introduces and whether adoption extends beyond exploratory pilots.