Token Securities Era Begins in Three Months

With the token securities regime set to take effect in three months, just one of the top 10 securities firms has completed preparations for the business, a survey found. Most firms have signaled plans to expand their businesses, but for now remain at the stage of testing their systems.
■ Just one says it is “ready for commercial operation”
A survey by Financial News on the 3rd of 10 major domestic securities firms’ progress in blockchain businesses found that just one firm said it had brought its token securities issuance support business to the “commercial operation” stage. Six firms remained at the “proof-of-concept and development” stage, while the other three said they were at the internal review or business plan approval stage.
Amendments to the Act on Electronic Registration of Stocks and Bonds and the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act are scheduled to take effect on February 4 next year. New rules will apply to the types of securities eligible for token issuance, distributed ledger requirements, registration requirements for issuer account management institutions, and the framework for over-the-counter exchanges. Although implementation of the regime is imminent, few securities firms have reached the stage where they can reliably issue actual products and operate services.
Securities firms were nevertheless strongly committed to the business. Asked about their business plans for the next 12 months, nine of the 10 firms said they would expand significantly or selectively. Three chose “significant expansion” and six chose “selective expansion.” The remaining firm said it had not yet decided on a direction.
All eight firms that identified their priority areas for the coming year chose “support for token securities issuance.” Five selected in-house development of products such as tokenized bonds and funds, while four chose trading, intermediation and account management for token securities. This appears to reflect a strategy of first establishing issuance systems and products, then expanding into the secondary market.
Funds and money market funds (MMFs) were the most popular choices as initial tokenization targets, with nine securities firms considering them a priority. Bonds were selected by eight firms and unlisted shares by four. This is in line with the financial authorities’ plan to initially pursue tokenization in stages, starting with private MMFs reserved for institutional investors, privately placed bonds and unlisted shares held through trusts.
■ Funds and MMFs top the list of first tokenization targets
By contrast, fractional investment assets, widely viewed as a representative example of token securities, were overlooked. No firm selected art or collectibles as a priority for consideration. Real estate; ships, aircraft and infrastructure; and music recordings, content and intellectual property each drew just two firms. This appears to reflect a decision to reduce trial and error by tokenizing funds and bonds first, as their product structures and valuation methods are already established, rather than seeking out new real-world assets.
Integration with stablecoins also remained a distant prospect. Four firms said their stablecoin-related business and payment linkages were at the internal review stage, while the other six were either monitoring developments or had no interest. None had entered the proof-of-concept and development or commercial operation stages, and no securities firm named the area as a priority for the next 12 months.
The securities industry cited unclear business rules as a key reason preparations were lagging. Nine firms selected “clarification of regulatory and operational standards” as a prerequisite for business expansion.
A securities industry official said, “Clear guidelines are needed on how it differs from existing electronic securities,” adding, “Regulatory standards affect every area in which products are tokenized.”
[email protected] Han Young-jun Reporter