South Korea’s Shinhan Asset Management signed a four-party memorandum on August 21 with the Solana Foundation, Etherfuse and Orca to test a Korean won-denominated tokenized fund on the Solana blockchain. The proof of concept will cover the fund’s issuance and distribution process and target overseas institutional investors.
BREAKING: Korea’s Shinhan Asset Management is building a KRW tokenized fund on Solana, modeled on BlackRock’s BUIDL
The four-party MOU with Solana Foundation, @etherfuse and @orca_so targets a tokenized RWA market at $36B today, projected by BCG to reach as much as $30 trillion… pic.twitter.com/XWnbGclYIB
— Solana (@solana) August 21, 2026
The proposed fund would invest in short-term Korean won bonds, but Shinhan has not disclosed its size, expected yield or commercial launch date. The trial comes as South Korea prepares to introduce a legal framework for tokenized securities in 2027.
Shinhan tests the full tokenized fund lifecycle
The proof of concept will test investor onboarding, including know-your-customer and anti-money laundering checks, alongside token issuance and onchain liquidity. Shinhan will provide asset-management and regulatory expertise, while Etherfuse supplies tokenization infrastructure and Orca works on the liquidity system.
The structure follows the model used by BlackRock’s BUIDL, which has become a major institutional example of blockchain-based fund distribution. BUIDL primarily holds US Treasury bills, cash and repurchase agreements, while Shinhan’s proposed product would provide exposure to short-term Korean bonds.
Why Korean asset managers are tokenizing funds
Tokenization can make fund ownership and transfers more programmable while allowing eligible investors to interact with financial assets through blockchain infrastructure. But it does not remove the legal requirements surrounding securities, custody, disclosure or investor eligibility.
The experiment also shows that Korean institutions are testing multiple routes into onchain markets. Shinhan signed a separate agreement with Plume on August 14 for another won-denominated tokenized fund proof of concept, while Japan’s SBI Global Asset Management launched a tokenized equity strategy on Solana in July.
Also Read: South Korea Finance Minister Says Tokenized Stocks Could Be Taxed From 2026
What happens next for Won tokenized funds?
South Korea’s National Assembly passed amendments on January 15 recognizing distributed ledgers as securities registries and allowing qualifying investment-contract securities to circulate through licensed securities firms. The changes are expected to take effect one year after promulgation, giving firms time to build compliant infrastructure.
The immediate test is therefore operational, not commercial. Shinhan will need to determine whether Solana can support compliant issuance, distribution and liquidity before Korea’s new rules take effect. BCG’s latest middle-case forecast puts tokenized real-world assets at $14 trillion by 2030, but adoption will depend heavily on regulatory clarity and usable market infrastructure.
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