Kakaopay could bring Korean stocks to U.S. investors

Kakaopay Securities has partnered with Dinari to test whether Korean-listed shares can be tokenized and distributed to eligible investors outside South Korea, including through channels in the United States.

• Kakaopay Securities and Dinari will test tokenizing Korean equities for possible international distribution through partners.
• Dinari's dShares model backs each token one-to-one with an underlying security held through regulated custody.
• The companies plan a joint task force this year to examine issuance and redemption processes.
• Dinari currently provides 724 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs to eligible investors across multiple jurisdictions.
• South Korea's tokenized securities framework is scheduled to begin taking effect in February 2027 nationwide.

Dinari announced on Sept. 29 that the companies will develop a framework for sourcing underlying Korean equities, conduct a proof of concept for tokenization and form a joint task force to study the operational, technical and regulatory requirements for international distribution. No Korean stock has been tokenized under the partnership yet.

The companies plan to examine Dinari's dShares model, under which each token is backed one-to-one by a corresponding underlying security held through a custodial structure. Dinari says the model is designed to preserve applicable rights tied to the shares, including dividends and voting.

Korea is home to some of the world's most important companies, yet access remains limited for most investors abroad 🇰🇷

Today Dinari and Kakaopay Securities are partnering to explore changing that with dShares™.

Our plan to bring Korean equities global, including the US: pic.twitter.com/848nqeSOuq --- Dinari (@DinariGlobal) September 29, 2026

Potential distribution would use Dinari's existing network of partners in the U.S. and other markets, subject to regulatory and operational requirements. Neither company identified which Korean stocks could enter the proof of concept or gave a date for international trading.

Kakaopay Securities will begin with a tokenization trial

The first stage centers on obtaining Korean-listed shares and testing how they could be represented through Dinari's token infrastructure. The planned work covers both the creation of tokens against underlying shares and their redemption when investors exit positions.

Kakaopay Securities Executive Vice President Inyoung Chung said the company wants to develop a concrete framework for distributing Korean equities internationally. She said the process will begin with sourcing listed shares and move into a tokenization proof of concept while the partners assess technical feasibility.

Dinari CEO Gabe Otte said access to Korean public companies remains limited for many investors outside the country. Existing overseas access often depends on instruments such as depositary receipts, which are available for only a portion of Korean-listed companies.

The companies plan to establish their joint task force later in 2026. Its work will cover token issuance and redemption, reconciliation between digital tokens and the underlying securities, shareholder rights and the infrastructure needed to distribute the products through Dinari's partners.

No launch timetable, eligible stock list or target transaction volume was disclosed. The announcement describes a proposed distribution framework, not an approved offering of tokenized Korean stocks in the U.S.

Dinari could extend its dShares model to Korean equities

Dinari already uses dShares to provide blockchain-based exposure to U.S.-listed stocks and exchange-traded funds. The company's current product set includes 724 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs for eligible users in the United States and more than 85 jurisdictions, according to its Sept. 29 announcement.

As crypto.news previously reported, Dinari opened tokenized S&P 500 stock trading to eligible U.S. investors in August, allowing users to buy blockchain-based versions of U.S. equities through self-custody wallets funded with USDC. Each dShare is backed one-to-one by an underlying security, according to Dinari.

Dinari's U.S. regulatory structure includes Dinari Securities LLC. An SEC filing shows that the subsidiary was approved as an introducing broker-dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 20, 2025, and became a FINRA member. At the end of 2025, the entity had not yet opened customer accounts.

Dinari subsequently launched its U.S. tokenized-equity service in 2026. The company said in August that eligible investors could access all 724 tokenized stocks and ETFs through its infrastructure, including companies in the S&P 500.

A separate September integration brought those products into Bitcoin.com for eligible U.S. users. Dinari reported that the service uses its infrastructure to provide access to dShares inside Bitcoin.com's ecosystem.

The Kakaopay agreement would apply the same general one-to-one custodial concept to securities listed in South Korea, though the companies still need to determine how Korean market rules, custody arrangements and cross-border distribution requirements would apply.

Korean stocks face a separate regulatory path

South Korea is preparing its own legal structure for tokenized securities. As crypto.news reported, South Korea plans to begin its tokenized securities rollout in February 2027 under amendments that recognize distributed ledgers as permitted securities registries.

The first phase is expected to cover selected privately pooled money market funds, institutional bonds, certain unlisted stocks and publicly offered fractional investment securities. Later stages are intended to extend tokenization to additional securities before introducing blockchain-based payment infrastructure.

Kakaopay Securities has already been exploring overseas access to Korean shares through another route. In July, the brokerage announced a partnership with U.S.-listed Siebert Financial designed to give American retail investors greater access to Korean equities.

As part of that earlier project, Siebert was studying a tokenization structure that could support 24-hour trading within the U.S. regulatory framework. Kakaopay Securities said at the time that the business model and launch schedule had not been finalized and remained subject to legal reviews and investor-protection requirements.

The Dinari partnership creates a separate tokenization workstream built around dShares infrastructure. The companies have not said whether the Dinari project will replace, merge with or operate separately from the Siebert initiative.

U.S. tokenized equities infrastructure is still evolving

Dinari's expansion comes as U.S. regulators and financial firms continue working through how tokenized stocks should operate within existing securities rules.

Dinari submitted a request to the SEC Crypto Task Force in April seeking clarification on how broker-dealers could use its blockchain technology for secondary records of customer securities positions. The filing states that underlying orders would still execute through traditional market venues and clear and settle through existing securities processes.

Under that proposal, the blockchain token would mirror a security position maintained through a broker-dealer or clearing firm. A corresponding token would be created after a purchase and removed after the underlying security was sold.

In related coverage, Dinari joined U.S. policy discussions around regulated tokenized securities as firms sought clearer rules covering custody, trading, settlement and investor rights. Dinari has maintained that its dShares structure is intended to keep the protections attached to conventional securities.

South Korean securities firms are building similar infrastructure ahead of their domestic rule changes. Earlier this month, KB Securities partnered with Securitize and Optimism on tokenized investment products, beginning with plans for a money market fund for institutional investors.

Hanwha Investment & Securities has reportedly developed a platform supporting Avalanche and Hyperledger Besu, while Eugene Investment & Securities is testing stablecoins for securities settlement.

For Kakaopay Securities and Dinari, the next identified step is the joint task force planned for later in 2026. The companies said it will examine issuance, redemption, reconciliation, shareholder rights and the infrastructure needed before any tokenized Korean equity could be distributed through Dinari's international partner network.
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