Ripple and Meritz Securities, one of Korea’s leading securities firms, announced a strategic partnership on October 14, 2026, to bring institutional-grade custody and tokenization infrastructure into Korea’s capital markets. The collaboration marks Ripple‘s first institutional partnership with a Korean securities firm and expands its footprint across the country’s banking, insurance, and capital markets sectors.
- Partnership scope: Exploration of Ripple Custody and tokenization infrastructure for Korea’s capital markets
- Meritz focus areas: Spot ETFs, fractional investment, security tokens, trading platforms, and KRW-denominated stablecoins
- Ripple’s global reach: More than 85 licenses across more than 60 markets
- Ripple’s Korea partnerships in 2026: Four institutions including Kyobo Life Insurance, Kbank, and Jeonbuk Bank
Ripple Custody is a bank-grade digital asset custody platform designed for regulated financial institutions, supporting secure storage, transfer, and settlement of digital assets. Rather than building institutional-grade custody infrastructure from scratch, a costly and time-consuming process, the partnership allows Meritz Securities to leverage Ripple‘s proven infrastructure. The two companies will begin within the scope of Meritz‘s existing securities business and current Korean regulation, then expand their cooperation in stages as the country’s digital asset framework develops.
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. Ripple brings the full infrastructure stack across payments, custody and tokenization, backed by more than 85 licenses and a network spanning more than 60 markets globally. We’re excited to work with Meritz Securities, and we look forward to supporting more Korean institutions as the market grows.
– Fiona Murray, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Ripple
This partnership lays the foundation for combining Ripple’s global digital asset infrastructure with our capital markets capabilities. As Korea’s regulatory framework evolves, we will prepare safe and trusted digital asset financial services in stages.
– Byungha Kang, Managing Director of the Strategic Planning Unit, Meritz Securities
The Meritz partnership represents Ripple‘s fourth Korean institutional collaboration this year. Kyobo Life Insurance is using Ripple Custody to pioneer Korea’s first tokenized government bond settlement on blockchain. Kbank, the country’s first internet-only bank, is deploying digital asset wallet infrastructure through the platform. Jeonbuk Bank became the first Korean regional bank to adopt Ripple Payments for cross-border remittance. Together, these partnerships position Ripple across Korea’s banking, insurance, and capital markets sectors.
Fiona Murray, Managing Director, Asia Pacific at Ripple. Source: LinkedIn
Byungha Kang, Managing Director of the Strategic Planning Unit at Meritz Securities. Source: LinkedIn
