The Bank of Korea published an issue note reviewing asset tokenization in global and Korean markets and setting out the main policy challenges for Korea as tokenized securities move toward wider use. The note says the global market reached USD 50.37 billion at end-March 2026 and has been growing rapidly, while Korea remains at an early stage, focused mainly on fractional investment in non-standardized assets such as real estate and music copyrights. It argues that tokenization can improve issuance, distribution and settlement through shorter settlement cycles, lower intermediation costs, atomic settlement and broader retail access, but could also introduce financial stability risks through liquidity mismatches, leverage amplification, operational and legal vulnerabilities, and fragmentation across platforms. For Korea, the note points to February 2026 amendments to the Electronic Securities Act and the Capital Markets Act as having laid the legal foundation for issuing and distributing tokenized securities based on distributed ledgers. It says early development should focus on building liquidity in tokenized products linked to non-standardized assets where demand has already been tested, while also establishing core infrastructure for valuation, custody, disclosure, rights transfer and investor protection. For traditional financial assets, it recommends a phased expansion roadmap by asset class and measures to improve interoperability and reduce fragmentation. From a macroprudential perspective, it calls for integrated monitoring that combines on-chain and off-chain data, early warning indicators and stress testing tailored to tokenization, alongside coordination among the Bank of Korea, supervisory authorities and other agencies. For settlement, it says priority should be given to central bank money, including central bank digital currency, and commercial bank deposits, including tokenized deposits, with stablecoins used only in a supplementary role. The note says detailed regulatory design is now being considered through the Financial Services Commission's private-public joint consultative body on security tokens, launched in March 2026.
Bank of Korea2026-07-08
Bank of Korea outlines tokenization policy priorities as global market reaches USD 50.37 billion
The Bank of Korea published an issue note on asset tokenization that puts the global market at USD 50.37 billion at end-March 2026 and says Korea is still in an early stage. It calls for Korea to build liquidity and core market infrastructure first, develop a phased expansion plan for traditional financial assets, and strengthen macroprudential monitoring. The note also says settlement of tokenized assets should prioritize central bank money and commercial bank deposits, with stablecoins used only supplementally.