South Korea's Shinhan Asset Management has signed a four-party memorandum on August 21 to test a Korean won tokenized investment fund using the Solana blockchain. The agreement brings together Shinhan Asset Management, the Solana Foundation, tokenization platform Etherfuse, and decentralized exchange Orca. According to reports from crypto.news, the participants will conduct a proof of concept covering the fund's issuance and distribution process, with no confirmed public launch date announced yet. As reported by The Block, Shinhan modeled this initiative after BlackRock's tokenized fund BUIDL, demonstrating the growing influence of established financial institutions in the tokenized securities space. Shinhan Asset Management Chief Executive Lee Suk-won stated that the firm will "demonstrate the issuance and distribution structure for won-denominated digital products with the best partners in the world," aiming to "secure capabilities in advance that can be activated as soon as the rules take effect, and to lead the market for managing won-based digital financial products."
The proof of concept will examine comprehensive steps including know your customer checks, anti-money laundering controls, token issuance and onchain liquidity arrangements. As reported by crypto.news, Shinhan will provide asset management and regulatory expertise, while Etherfuse will supply infrastructure for creating and managing tokenized assets. Orca will help design the liquidity system used to distribute or exchange fund tokens on Solana. The planned product would invest in short-term Korean won bonds and target overseas institutional investors, though the fund's size, expected yield, and specific asset allocation remain undisclosed. According to The Block, the parties will examine security audits, blockchain operations, regulatory compliance, and onchain liquidity design consistent with both domestic and international rules. The agreement itself is a non-binding memorandum confirming an intent to cooperate, and the review is limited to a proof of concept premised on offshore markets. Specifically, they will examine know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) frameworks that comply with domestic and international legal systems, blockchain operational methods, security audits, compliance with the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, and on-chain liquidity design.
Solana offers low transaction fees and rapid settlement which could support frequent subscriptions, redemptions and transfers, though technical features do not remove securities registration, custody or investor protection requirements. As previously reported by crypto.news, SBI Global Asset Management launched a tokenized Japanese equity fund on Solana in July, targeting institutional and accredited investors through regulated tokenization platform DigiFT. Shinhan has also been testing multiple blockchain platforms, having signed a separate agreement with Plume on August 14 to develop a demonstration for a won-denominated tokenized fund. According to The Block, the market for tokenized real-world assets, excluding stablecoins, stood at approximately $36.27 billion, representing a 2,200% increase from 2020 according to research firm RWA.io. BCG's more recent middle scenario estimates tokenized real world assets could reach $14 trillion by 2030 and $55 trillion by 2035. The ParadiseTeam analysis notes that when a regulated Korean asset manager commits to a KRW tokenized fund on Solana, it signals about infrastructure trust, as institutions do not tokenize on chains they expect to break. Modeling the fund on BlackRock's BUIDL template lowers perceived risk for the next institution, accelerating adoption through proven templates.
South Korea's National Assembly passed amendments supporting tokenized securities on January 15, with legislation recognizing distributed ledgers as valid securities registries and permitting qualifying investment contract securities to circulate through licensed securities companies. According to The Block, these amendments were promulgated in the following month and are scheduled to take effect in February 2027. The passage prompted several other Korean financial giants to prepare tokenized securities services. In April, South Korea's Ministry of Finance and Economy launched its own pilot project to test blockchain-based deposit tokens for expenses related to official duties. Regulators are preparing account management infrastructure and investor protection rules before the rollout. Shinhan Asset Management will focus on technical validation and infrastructure preparation until South Korea's security token regime takes effect, and will later identify products that can be issued and distributed in line with legislation and financial regulators' guidelines.
According to Solana, the existing tokenized real world asset market was worth approximately $36 billion, with a Boston Consulting Group projection suggesting the sector could reach as much as $30 trillion by 2030. However, BCG's more recent middle scenario estimates tokenized real world assets could reach $16 trillion by 2030 and $55 trillion by 2035. The next stage will involve completing the proof of concept and aligning the fund structure with Korea's final rules, with any commercial launch depending on regulatory approval, operational testing and demand from eligible overseas institutions. As reported by The Block, Shinhan Asset Management, which oversees more than $96 billion in assets under management as of August 2026, aims to "proactively secure capabilities that can be activated immediately upon the system's implementation, and to lead the market for managing KRW-based digital financial products." The ParadiseTeam analysis suggests that while the $36 billion to $30 trillion span represents a significant opportunity, the $36 billion is real and here today, while the $30 trillion projection is a forecast that requires actual delivery and market validation.
