The era of Security Token Offerings (STOs), which allow investors to invest in tangible assets like real estate, art, and intellectual property (IP) by splitting them into stock-like units, has officially begun. On the 15th, the National Assembly passed amendments to the Capital Markets Act and the Electronic Securities Act, which aim to institutionalize token securities. This bill comes to fruition approximately three years after financial authorities first announced guidelines in July 2023. The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has projected that the domestic token securities market will grow to 367 trillion won by 2030.
Allowing the issuance and distribution of blockchain-based securities
The core of the amendment is the recognition of blockchain-based distributed ledger technology (DLT) as a legally valid securities record system. Unlike the existing Electronic Securities Act, which only permitted centralized account books, the amendment now allows securities issuance through distributed ledgers. Furthermore, the amendment to the Capital Markets Act allows securities firms to broker investment contracts for joint ventures, such as art exhibitions or Korean beef cattle farming.
The bill stipulates the principle of strict separation of issuance and distribution to protect investors. The amendment is scheduled to take effect in January 2027, one year after its promulgation. This establishes Korea as one of the leading countries, following the United States and Japan, to have completed the institutionalization of token securities.
According to Boston Consulting Group's global STO market outlook, the domestic STO market capitalization is projected to grow from approximately KRW 34 trillion in 2024 to KRW 119 trillion in 2025 and KRW 367 trillion in 2030. The global tokenization market is projected to expand to USD 16 trillion (approximately KRW 22,880 trillion) by 2030, and blockchain technology is expected to become a core infrastructure for the financial industry.
Securities firms and fintechs are intensifying their competition for market dominance.
To ensure the token securities ecosystem is operational immediately after the law takes effect, the Financial Services Commission will launch a joint token securities council comprised of relevant organizations in February. The council, comprised of the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service, the Korea Securities Depository, the Korea Financial Investment Association, and experts from industry and academia, will design detailed systems within three subcommittees: technology and infrastructure, issuance systems, and distribution systems.
Industry preparations are already in the final stages. Mirae Asset Securities has completed the development of its own STO mainnet through the Next Finance Initiative (NFI) with Hana Financial Group and SK Telecom, while Shinhan Investment & Securities is pursuing the PULSE project with SK Securities. The Korea Securities Depository has also completed a testbed platform centered on a token securities total management system.
Distributed ledger technology is currently being researched and experimented with by approximately 40 central banks and financial institutions worldwide, and its development continues with the goal of improving the security, efficiency, and processing speed of financial services. In particular, traditional central securities depositories (CSDs), which have primarily operated for securities depository, settlement, and registration, are redefining rights transfer, custody methods, and the very structure of intermediation through blockchain-based distributed ledger technology.
Over-the-counter exchange approval is a variable
However, the preliminary approval for the over-the-counter (OTC) exchange for fragmented investment has been mired in controversy over its fairness. The Financial Services Commission postponed the preliminary approval agenda at its regular meeting on the 14th. The schedule was disrupted when Lucent Block held a press conference on the 12th, raising suspicions of preferential treatment for the Korea Exchange-KOSCOM consortium and the Nextrade-Music Cow consortium and reporting it to the Fair Trade Commission.
Shin Beom-jun, Chairman of the Token Securities Council of the Korea Fintech Industry Association, emphasized, “The legal uncertainty that the industry has long desired has been resolved,” and “Private companies have already completed technical and institutional preparations, so they will be able to activate the market immediately after the law takes effect.”
Korbit Research Center predicted that by 2026, the blockchain market will evolve into a fully on-chain financial ecosystem, combining real asset inflows, derivatives growth, and liquidity circulation. Tiger Research cited the conservatism of capital flows and the concentration of major assets as the most notable changes in the blockchain market in 2026, predicting a complete shift in market leadership from individuals to institutions. The institutionalization of token securities is expected to provide the Korean financial industry with a competitive edge in the digital asset era.