Kakaopay Securities has signed separate agreements with tokenization firms Dinari and Ondo Finance to explore bringing Korean-listed equities onchain and distributing them to investors outside South Korea, Cointelegraph reported. The deals, announced on Sept. 29, 2026, cover sourcing underlying Korean shares, building tokenization infrastructure and assessing potential distribution in international markets.
Under the Dinari partnership, the companies plan a proof of concept using Dinari’s dShares model, which is designed to preserve applicable shareholder rights including dividends and voting. Dinari currently offers 724 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs through dShares, and the Kakaopay agreement would explore extending that model to Korean-listed companies, Crypto.news reported. No Korean stock has been tokenized under the partnership yet.
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Key facts
- Kakaopay announced separate agreements with Dinari and Ondo on Tuesday, covering share sourcing, tokenization infrastructure and potential distribution outside South Korea.
- Dinari’s dShares model backs each token one-to-one with an underlying security held through regulated custody, and Dinari provides 724 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs to eligible investors in more than 85 jurisdictions.
- South Korea’s National Assembly approved amendments in January recognizing distributed ledgers as valid securities registries, with the framework scheduled to take effect in February 2027.
- Tokenized stocks reached about $3.2 billion in distributed value as of late September, according to RWA.xyz, with the market still concentrated in U.S. equities and ETFs.
What each partnership covers
The Dinari arrangement centers on a joint task force planned for later in 2026 to examine token issuance and redemption, reconciliation between digital tokens and underlying securities, shareholder rights and the distribution infrastructure needed. Dinari CEO Gabe Otte told Cointelegraph that no specific Korean-listed companies have been selected for the proof of concept and that no public timeline has been set for commercial availability. He said the proposed model would use locally listed Korean shares as the underlying assets rather than tokens that simply track their prices.
Kakaopay’s agreement with Ondo will initially focus on a framework for sourcing and custodying Korean-listed shares that could later be tokenized, with Kakaopay operating a foreign investor omnibus account to hold and administer the underlying shares. The two firms will also research token issuance and redemption. Both companies said any decision on whether or when to commercialize tokenized Korean equities will depend on legal and regulatory requirements in South Korea and overseas.
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Kakaopay Securities Executive Vice President Inyoung Chung, in remarks reported by Crypto.news, said the company wants to develop a concrete framework for distributing Korean equities internationally, beginning with sourcing listed shares and moving into a tokenization proof of concept while the partners assess technical feasibility. Otte said overseas access to Korean public companies often depends on instruments such as depositary receipts, which are available for only a portion of Korean-listed firms.
The Dinari partnership creates a separate tokenization workstream from an earlier Kakaopay Securities project. In July, the brokerage announced a partnership with U.S.-listed Siebert Financial aimed at giving American retail investors greater access to Korean equities, with Siebert studying a tokenization structure that could support 24-hour trading within the U.S. regulatory framework. The companies have not said whether the Dinari project will replace, merge with or operate separately from the Siebert initiative, according to Crypto.news.
Why it matters
South Korea is preparing its own legal structure for tokenized securities, with the Korea Securities Depository developing infrastructure to connect its existing securities account system with blockchain-based data. The February 2027 framework represents a domestic path for tokenization, while the Dinari and Ondo agreements aim at cross-border distribution. For investors outside Korea, the proposals could widen access to Korean public companies beyond depositary receipts.
Korean securities firms are building similar infrastructure ahead of the rule changes. KB Securities partnered with Securitize and Optimism on tokenized investment products beginning with a money market fund for institutional investors, while Hanwha Investment & Securities has reportedly developed a platform supporting Avalanche and Hyperledger Besu and Eugene Investment & Securities is testing stablecoins for securities settlement, Crypto.news reported.
What to watch
The joint task force planned for later in 2026 is the next identified step, examining issuance, redemption, reconciliation, shareholder rights and distribution infrastructure before any tokenized Korean equity could reach Dinari’s international partner network. South Korea’s tokenized securities framework is scheduled to take effect in February 2027, and any commercial decision will depend on regulatory requirements in both Korean and overseas markets.
Reported by cointelegraph.com.
Sources: Cointelegraph, Crypto.news
