Kakao Pay Explores Tokenized Korean Stocks With Ondo Finance, Dinari

Kakao Pay Securities partners with Ondo Finance and Dinari to explore tokenized South Korean stocks for overseas investors.

Kakao Pay Securities has signed separate agreements with Ondo Finance and Dinari to explore the overseas distribution and tokenization of South Korean-listed stocks, according to information shared by Cointelegraph.

The partnerships are aimed at examining how Korean equities could be represented as blockchain-based tokens and made available to investors outside South Korea. Kakao Pay Securities plans to work with both companies on the infrastructure, operational procedures and technical requirements needed for such a system.

Kakao Pay Securities Builds Tokenization Framework

Under the proposed structure, Kakao Pay Securities would use an omnibus account to source and hold the underlying Korean-listed shares for overseas investors. The companies would then examine mechanisms for issuing and redeeming corresponding tokens, as well as reconciling the balances between the underlying securities and digital assets.

The work will also examine how shareholder rights, including dividends and voting rights, could be reflected when Korean equities are represented through tokenized assets. Kakao Pay Securities and its partners are expected to establish joint task forces to evaluate the business and technical framework.

The initiative remains at the exploration and proof-of-concept stage rather than representing an announced commercial tokenized-stock service.

Ondo Finance to Support Global Distribution

Kakao Pay Securities signed an MOU with Ondo Finance covering the development of an overseas distribution framework and joint research into stock-tokenization infrastructure. The partnership will examine how Ondo Finance's global distribution network and tokenization infrastructure could be connected with Kakao Pay Securities' Korean securities infrastructure.

Ondo Finance operates Ondo Stocks, a platform providing eligible investors outside the United States with tokenized exposure to publicly traded securities. Its existing platform currently offers tokenized U.S. stocks and exchange-traded funds through blockchain networks including Ethereum, BNB Chain and Solana.

The Korean partnership would therefore involve examining whether similar tokenization infrastructure can be applied to shares listed in South Korea.

Dinari to Conduct Proof of Concept

The agreement with Dinari focuses more specifically on testing the technical feasibility of tokenizing Korean-listed equities.

Dinari's dShares model uses tokens backed on a one-to-one basis by corresponding underlying securities. The companies will examine whether a comparable issuance-and-redemption structure can be applied to Korean stocks, while also addressing the treatment of dividends, voting rights and asset reconciliation.

Dinari said the collaboration will include a joint task force to assess operational, technical and regulatory requirements for potential international distribution.

The agreements give Kakao Pay Securities two separate frameworks to investigate overseas access to Korean equities: Ondo Finance's tokenized-asset distribution infrastructure and Dinari's securities-tokenization technology. The next stage will involve evaluating how the underlying shares can be sourced and how issuance and redemption could operate in practice.

Writer: Ethan Collins
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