Shinhan Asset Management has signed a four-party memorandum of understanding with the Solana Foundation, Etherfuse and Orca to pilot a Korean won-denominated tokenized fund. The proof of concept, modeled on BlackRock's BUIDL, targets overseas institutional investors and follows South Korea's new law recognizing tokenized securities.
Shinhan Asset Management, which oversees more than $96 billion in assets, signed a four-party memorandum of understanding with the Solana Foundation, Etherfuse and Orca on Friday. The deal covers a proof-of-concept for issuing and distributing a Korean won-denominated tokenized fund, the companies said in a press release.
Modeled on BlackRock's BUIDL
Shinhan said it modeled the initiative after BlackRock's tokenized fund BUIDL. The structure, still under review, would have overseas institutional investors purchase a KRW ultra-short-term bond fund managed by Shinhan, with the holdings then issued in tokenized form.
In the proof of concept, the parties will examine know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering frameworks, security audits, blockchain operations, regulatory compliance and onchain liquidity design. Shinhan Asset Management CEO Lee Seok-won said the goal is "to lead the market for managing KRW-based digital financial products."
South Korea's STO framework
South Korea's National Assembly passed amendments in January that established a legal framework for security token offerings, opening the way for blockchain-based issuance of tokenized securities in the country. The rules are scheduled to take effect in February 2027.
The tokenized real-world assets market, excluding stablecoins, stood at approximately $36.27 billion — a 2,200% increase from 2020, according to an RWA.io report cited in Shinhan's announcement.
A parallel bet on Plume
Shinhan is not limiting itself to one chain. On Aug. 14, Shinhan agreed to build a separate demonstration with Plume for a won-denominated tokenized fund, according to crypto.news. The parallel projects suggest Shinhan is testing different technical and distribution models before South Korea's framework takes effect.
Solana has already drawn other Asian asset managers. SBI Global Asset Management launched a tokenized Japanese equity fund on Solana in July, targeting institutional investors through the platform DigiFT.
Sources: The Block, crypto.news
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