Ripple Partners With Meritz Securities to Bring Crypto Custody and Tokenization to Korea's Capital Markets

Published October 14, 2026, 11:38 UTC. Based on Ripple's official press release dated October 14, 2026, with secondary reporting from crypto.news, TradingView News and cryptoquorum.com.

Ripple announced on October 14 a strategic partnership with Meritz Securities, one of South Korea's leading securities firms, to explore bringing Ripple Custody and Ripple's tokenization infrastructure into Korea's capital markets. The deal is Ripple's first partnership with a Korean securities firm and its fourth institutional partnership in the country this year, according to the company's press release issued from Seoul.

Custody first, then tokenization

Under the agreement, the two companies will examine how Ripple Custody, the company's bank-grade digital asset custody platform for regulated institutions, and Ripple's tokenization infrastructure could be used inside Meritz Securities' existing business. Ripple Custody handles the secure storage, transfer and settlement of digital assets, including the management of the private keys that control them. Building that kind of system in-house is costly, complex and slow, Ripple said, so the partnership gives Meritz a tested route into digital asset services with the security and control standards that regulated firms need, according to the press release. The cooperation will start within the scope of Meritz's existing securities business and South Korea's current regulation, then widen in stages as the country's digital asset framework develops.

Spot ETFs, security tokens and a won stablecoin on the menu

Meritz Securities said it is exploring a range of digital asset-related business opportunities as part of its preparations for the integration of digital assets into the regulated financial system. The list includes spot exchange-traded funds, fractional investment products, security tokens, digital asset trading platforms, and Korean won-denominated stablecoins, according to Ripple's announcement. The partnership with Ripple was formed as part of those broader efforts. The firm has not said which product line gets priority, whether any planned service will need separate regulatory approval, or when anything might launch, and no financial terms of the deal were disclosed.

The fourth Korean institution this year

With Meritz, Ripple now works with Korean institutions across banking, insurance and capital markets. Kyobo Life Insurance is using Ripple Custody to pioneer Korea's first tokenized government bond settlement on blockchain, Kbank, Korea's first internet-only bank, is deploying digital asset wallet infrastructure through Ripple Custody, and Jeonbuk Bank became the first Korean regional bank to adopt Ripple Payments for cross-border remittance, according to Ripple. Fiona Murray, Ripple's managing director for Asia Pacific, said Korea is one of the most dynamic digital asset markets in the world and its institutions are preparing to move from exploration to real-world utility, adding that Ripple brings its full infrastructure stack across payments, custody and tokenization, backed by more than 85 licenses and a network spanning more than 60 markets globally. Byungha Kang, managing director of Meritz Securities' Strategic Planning Unit, said the partnership lays the foundation for combining Ripple's global digital asset infrastructure with the firm's capital markets capabilities, and that Meritz will prepare safe and trusted digital asset financial services in stages as Korea's regulatory framework evolves.

What the announcement does not say

The deal is an exploration and infrastructure partnership, not a product launch. The announcement does not say Meritz has launched a custody product, issued any securities on the XRP Ledger, or committed to using XRP, crypto.news noted in its coverage. Separating the partnership step from the product step matters, because none of the partners named a live token, an XRP transaction or a commercial launch date.

This article is news reporting and is not investment advice.

Sources

• Ripple, official press release dated October 14, 2026, primary source for the Meritz Securities partnership, the Ripple Custody and tokenization scope, the staged cooperation plan, Meritz's exploration of spot ETFs, fractional investment, security tokens, trading platforms and KRW-denominated stablecoins, the fourth-Korean-partner count, the Kyobo Life, Kbank and Jeonbuk Bank partnerships, and the Fiona Murray and Byungha Kang quotes
• crypto.news, secondary source for the October 14 reporting and the caveat that the announcement identifies no live token, XRP transaction or product launch date
• TradingView News and cryptoquorum.com, secondary sources for the partnership details and the interpretation that this is an infrastructure exploration agreement, not a tokenized product launch