South Korea Unveils Timeline for Securities Tokenization: First Batch of Tokenized Assets Includes Bonds, Funds, and Unlisted Stocks
- South Korea's Financial Services Commission published a three-phase roadmap for securities tokenization on September 4, with amended laws taking effect on February 4, 2027, making South Korea the first major economy to establish specialized legislation for securities tokenization.
- Phase 1 launching in February 2027 will open private money market funds for institutional investors, private corporate bonds, unlisted equities via trust certificates, and fractionalized investment products, with retail investors limited to 100 million Korean won annual net purchases on OTC platforms.
- Phase 2 will expand tokenization to publicly offered securities, with the Korea Exchange leading validation and pilot projects for tokenized listed stocks, but no specific timeline has been set pending system stability and technical maturity assessments.
- Phase 3 aims to establish on-chain settlement infrastructure using stablecoins, contingent on completion of South Korea's separate stablecoin legislation requiring issuers to hold minimum capital of 5 billion Korean won.
- South Korea's regulated, phased approach contrasts with Robinhood's permissionless blockchain model, which rapidly achieved $1.5 billion daily DEX trading volume but faced CEO conflicts and potential regulatory scrutiny.
South Korea's Financial Services Commission announced a comprehensive three-phase roadmap for securities tokenization on September 4, establishing the country as the first major economy to define tokenization through specialized legislation. The amended Electronic Securities Act and Capital Markets Act will take effect on February 4, 2027, incorporating token securities as a third form of issuance alongside paper and electronic securities, subject to existing securities regulations.
Phase 1, commencing February 2027, will launch with carefully selected asset categories including private money market funds for institutional investors, private corporate bonds, unlisted equities structured as trust beneficiary certificates, and fractionalized investment products. Licensed securities companies can handle tokenized securities without additional licensing, while non-financial institutions must maintain at least 4 billion Korean won in paid-in capital. Retail investors face a 100 million Korean won annual net purchase limit on OTC platforms and 30 million Korean won subscription limits for fractionalized products.
Phase 2 will expand tokenization to publicly offered securities, with the Korea Exchange leading validation and pilot projects for tokenized listed stocks. The FSC has not set a specific timeline, making advancement contingent on Phase 1 system stability, market participants' technical maturity, distributed ledger interoperability, and stablecoin legislation progress.
Phase 3 aims to establish on-chain settlement infrastructure using stablecoins for simultaneous trading and fund settlement on a shared ledger, requiring completion of South Korea's separate stablecoin legislation mandating minimum issuer capital of 5 billion Korean won. This measured, regulated approach contrasts sharply with Robinhood's permissionless blockchain model, which achieved rapid scale but generated regulatory uncertainty and corporate conflicts.
韩国公布证券代币化时间表：首批代币化资产包括债券、基金和非上市股票
韩国金融服务委员会9月4日公布了证券代币化的全面三阶段路线图，使韩国成为首个通过专门立法界定代币化的主要经济体。修订后的《电子证券法》和《资本市场法》将于2027年2月4日生效，将代币证券确立为纸质证券和电子证券之外的第三种发行形式，受现有证券法规约束。
第一阶段从2027年2月开始，将推出精心选定的资产类别，包括机构投资者专用私募货币市场基金、私募公司债、结构化为信托受益凭证的非上市股权，以及分级投资产品。持证券公司无需额外许可即可处理代币证券，而非金融机构必须维持至少40亿韩元的实缴资本。零售投资者在场外交易平台的年净购买额限制为1亿韩元，分级产品的单笔认购限额为3000万韩元。
第二阶段将代币化扩展至公开发行证券，由韩国交易所主导代币化上市股票的验证和试点项目。金融服务委员会尚未设定具体时间表，推进取决于第一阶段系统稳定性、市场参与者技术成熟度、分布式账本互操作性以及稳定币立法进展。
第三阶段目标是建立链上结算基础设施，使用稳定币在共享账本上同时完成交易和资金结算，需要完成韩国单独推进的稳定币立法，要求发行者最少资本金为50亿韩元。这种循序渐进的监管方式与Robinhood的无许可区块链模式形成鲜明对比，后者虽然实现了快速扩张，但引发了监管不确定性和企业冲突。