Canton Foundation and Meritz Securities partner on asset tokenisation in Korea

By Divya Shah

Why it matters: For FinTechs, it creates opportunities in tokenisation platforms, digital asset custody, collateral management, and cross-border liquidity solutions. It also highlights how regulated financial institutions are preparing for broader adoption of blockchain-enabled capital markets.

The Canton Foundation and Meritz Securities signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore institutional asset tokenisation opportunities in South Korea and evaluate cross-border digital asset use cases using the Canton Network.

Under the agreement, the two organisations will assess domestic financial asset tokenisation initiatives, explore the use of Canton’s privacy-enabled blockchain infrastructure for tokenised collateral applications, and collaborate with global institutional partners on cross-border asset tokenisation projects. The partnership is expected to expand progressively as South Korea’s regulatory framework for digital assets continues to evolve.

The collaboration combines Meritz Securities’ expertise in capital markets and preparations for South Korea’s emerging Security Token Offering (STO) market with the Canton Foundation’s growing ecosystem of financial institutions, market infrastructure providers, and digital asset platforms.

Byungha Kang, Managing Director of the Strategic Planning Unit at Meritz Securities, said, “Our collaboration with the Canton Foundation lays the groundwork for exploring how Korea’s capital markets can be linked with global digital asset infrastructure. As Korea’s regulatory framework takes shape, we will take a step-by-step approach to assessing how secure and efficient digital asset infrastructure can be put to use.”

The partnership will focus on three key areas. First, the organisations will explore the tokenisation of traditional domestic financial assets within existing regulatory frameworks and evaluate potential business models aligned with future regulations. Second, they will assess the application of Canton Network’s privacy-enabled, institutional-grade blockchain infrastructure within South Korea’s capital markets.

The third area of focus will be cross-border asset tokenisation initiatives and liquidity. The partners plan to work with global institutional participants to explore tokenised sovereign-grade debt assets and evaluate their use as high-quality liquid collateral. The initiative will also examine how tokenised assets could support cross-market capital mobility and improve liquidity across trading and clearing ecosystems.

Viv Diwakar, Head of the Canton Foundation, said, “Meritz Securities’ strengths in institutional financing and structured products position it well to explore new opportunities for tokenisation and collateral mobility in Korea. Together, we aim to leverage Canton’s privacy-enabled infrastructure to connect Korean financial assets with global institutional markets.”

The agreement highlights growing interest among traditional financial institutions in tokenising real-world assets and developing blockchain-based capital market infrastructure as regulatory frameworks for digital assets continue to mature globally.