Meritz Securities and Ripple pilot custody and tokenization under Korean rules

Summary: Meritz Securities and Ripple agreed on October 14 to explore custody and tokenisation technology within current Korean securities regulations. The initial focus is regulated capital-markets infrastructure, not immediate retail-facing services or XRP trading volumes.

Scope and rollout

The companies will assess Ripple Custody and related infrastructure under Meritz’s existing permissions. Cooperation will expand in stages as Korea’s rules develop. Meritz is evaluating spot ETFs, fractional investments, security tokens and a won-linked stablecoin. These are options under consideration rather than products launched through this agreement.

Operational focus: custody

Custody serves as the foundation for tokenised securities. A broker must safeguard assets, enforce internal approval rules and provide auditors with traceable records of client holdings. Korean financial institutions prioritize keeping these processes inside a regulated operating model.

Market context and implications

This is Ripple’s first agreement with a Korean securities firm. Ripple already works with other parts of Korea’s financial industry. The deal constitutes an infrastructure partnership. Impact depends on which services Meritz ultimately introduces and whether adoption extends beyond exploratory work.