8th September 2026
By Shubhii Verma
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) has unveiled a three-phase roadmap to introduce tokenized securities into the country’s regulated capital markets, with the first stage scheduled to begin on February 4, 2027.
The initial phase will formally recognize securities based on distributed ledger technology, establishing a legal foundation for issuing conventional financial instruments in tokenized form. The framework will expand tokenization to traditional assets, including stocks, bonds and funds.
Importantly, tokenized securities will continue to be treated as securities under existing capital-market regulations rather than being classified as a separate category of crypto assets. This means existing licensing requirements and investor-protection rules will continue to apply.
Phase One Targets Selected Securities
The first stage will cover a limited range of financial instruments. These include privately pooled money-market funds and bonds reserved for institutional investors, unlisted shares structured through trusts, and publicly offered fractional-investment securities.
The rollout will allow regulators and institutions to test distributed-ledger infrastructure before wider adoption.
Licensed securities firms will be able to participate under their existing regulatory authorizations. Infrastructure development will be carried out in coordination with the Korea Securities Depository (KSD), with participating firms required to operate distributed-ledger systems capable of connecting with established securities-registration infrastructure.
This will keep tokenized records aligned with legally recognized ownership information.
Phase Two Expands Tokenization
The second phase would extend tokenization to all publicly offered securities. The FSC has not set a launch date for this stage.
Progress will depend on the initial rollout’s stability and technological readiness. Broader adoption will depend on demonstrated performance.
Stablecoins Could Power Final Settlement
The third and most ambitious phase would introduce blockchain-based payment and settlement infrastructure linked to stablecoins. The goal is to place both the securities and payment legs of transactions on blockchain rails, potentially supporting more direct delivery-versus-payment settlement and reducing dependence on separate systems.
Stablecoin settlement is a longer-term objective, not guaranteed for the February 2027 launch. Implementation will depend on stablecoin legislation and earlier results.
Before the framework takes effect, the FSC plans to refine regulations covering issuance, circulation and investor safeguards while working with the KSD and private-sector participants on technical standards.
Overall, the roadmap represents gradual blockchain integration rather than replacement of traditional securities infrastructure. The country is prioritizing legal recognition first, followed by broader issuance and, eventually, on-chain settlement once operational safeguards are proven. The plan could strengthen confidence in regulated digital-asset markets.
