Ripple teams with Kyobo on South Korea tokenized bond settlement

Ripple has partnered with Kyobo Life Insurance, one of South Korea’s largest life insurers, to pilot blockchain-based settlement of government bonds, as Seoul moves to formalize rules for tokenized securities.

Ripple Custody, Ripple’s digital asset custody solution, will support the issuance, storage and settlement of tokenized government bonds, the company said in a Wednesday announcement. The companies will also explore tokenized treasury settlement across Korea’s financial system.

The project aims to replace traditional bond settlement processes, which often rely on multiple intermediaries and two-day settlement cycles, with onchain execution that enables near real-time settlement. This change could reduce counterparty risk and improve capital efficiency.

The project arrives as South Korea builds the legal infrastructure for tokenized securities. Amendments recognizing blockchain-based distributed ledgers as valid securities registries passed the National Assembly on Jan. 15, and the new framework is scheduled to take effect on Feb. 4, 2027, after additional rulemaking and infrastructure work.

The reforms also pave the way for investment contract securities to be circulated through regulated securities firms, expanding access and improving market liquidity for non-traditional financial instruments.

Related: South Korea fines Coinone $3.5M, orders partial business suspension: Reports

Kyobo Life explores stablecoin payments

As part of the partnership, Kyobo Life said it will also explore other use cases, including stablecoin-based payment rails and integration with liquidity and treasury management systems.

Jin Ho Park, senior executive vice president at Kyobo Life, said that traditional financial instruments “can operate securely and efficiently on blockchain.”

Related: Jito, KODA team up on institutional staking in South Korea

South Korea draft bill to tighten stablecoin, RWA rules

As Cointelegraph reported, South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party is reportedly preparing legislation that would classify stablecoins used in cross-border payments as foreign exchange instruments.

Under the proposed Digital Asset Basic Act, such tokens would fall under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, bringing related businesses under regulatory oversight even without separate licensing.

The draft also introduces stricter rules for tokenized real-world assets, requiring issuers to back underlying assets through regulated trust structures under capital markets law.

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