KGI Financial Holding said on Sept. 1 that KGI Asia, its Hong Kong-based securities subsidiary, has partnered with Singapore-licensed RWA exchange DigiFT to issue kTW50 on Ethereum. The token is linked to the KGI Taiwan TOP50 ETF (009816), and KGI described it as the world’s first on-chain real-world asset token tied to a Taiwan stock ETF.
The product is not open to Taiwan investors. According to DigiFT’s product page and release, kTW50 carries a minimum subscription amount of $10,000 and is offered only to accredited investors and institutional investors as defined under Singapore’s Securities and Futures Act. The target base is offshore investors.
KGI Asia and DigiFT structured the issuance
KGI said the token was launched through KGI Asia in cooperation with DigiFT, with Ethereum used as the issuance network and 009816 serving as the reference asset.
Hsu Wei-Ming, senior executive vice president at KGI Financial Holding, said Taiwan holds a leading position in semiconductors, advanced manufacturing and AI infrastructure, and that 009816 brings together some of Taiwan’s most influential companies. He said the collaboration was designed to offer offshore qualified investors a new on-chain investment product.
The underlying ETF listed in February and now has NT$187.558 billion in assets
The ETF behind the tokenized product only listed in February this year. According to data cited from the Taiwan Stock Exchange, 009816 currently has NT$187.558 billion in assets under management and 916,300 beneficiaries, and tracks the Taiwan Index Plus Taiwan TOP 50 Index.
The report said 009816 is also the only Taiwan stock ETF that does not distribute dividends. Cash dividends from component stocks remain inside the fund for reinvestment, and it has not made any distributions since listing.
The article also said Taiwan stocks reached a record high of 48,218 this year, lifting total market capitalization to the fifth largest equity market globally. As of Aug. 28, the number of beneficiaries in ETFs focused mainly on Taiwan equities, excluding leveraged and inverse products, had surpassed 17 million, with total assets above NT$7 trillion. KGI said Taiwan is moving from a “technology island” toward a “capital island.”
kTW50 represents rights in an offshore feeder fund, not direct ownership of shares or ETF units
DigiFT’s product page lists kTW50 as an equity fund product issued on Ethereum with a $10,000 minimum investment.
From a legal standpoint, the token represents beneficial rights in Class A shares of KGI Taiwan TOP 50 Feeder SP. That offshore fund then invests all or substantially all of its net asset value into 009816, which is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Buyers of the token do not directly hold Taiwan stocks or ETF beneficiary certificates. What they hold is a certificate tied to units in an offshore fund.
24/7 transferability does not mean 24-hour Taiwan stock trading
DigiFT said in its release that the underlying listed security trades only during Taiwan Stock Exchange hours, while kTW50 can be transferred around the clock between “authorized holders.” It added that the structure is designed so the token can later connect with a broader on-chain ecosystem.
Those authorized holders are accredited investors that have passed whitelist checks. It is not a token that any wallet holder can freely receive and settle. The 24-hour feature applies only to transfers among approved holders and does not mean Taiwan equities themselves have become a 24-hour market.
DigiFT says the token adds a growth asset layer to on-chain finance
DigiFT founder and group CEO Henry Zhang said mature markets are built on three layers: cash, income and growth. He said on-chain finance has had only the first two in recent years, and that kTW50 adds the third by offering a regulated route to growth asset allocation.
The report pointed to DigiFT’s existing shelf to illustrate that positioning. Products already listed on the platform include GOLDX, a physical gold token from OCBC and LionGlobal with a $1,000 threshold; bEQTY, a U.S. equity income fund managed by BNY Investments with a target return of 11% to 15%; and JX, SBI’s Japanese high-dividend strategy with a $10,000 threshold. kTW50 adds Taiwan equity exposure to that lineup.
Licensed in Singapore and Hong Kong, with some disclosures still pending
DigiFT was founded in 2021. It holds a Capital Markets Services licence and a Recognised Market Operator licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore under number CMS101219. It also holds Type 1 and Type 4 licences from Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission under number BVE194. Clients named in the report include UBS Asset Management, Invesco, Franklin Templeton and CMB International.
BlockTempo said the move does put a Taiwan stock ETF on-chain, and that the claim of being the first globally currently has no earlier precedent. At the same time, the contract address, custodian and redemption mechanism for kTW50 have not yet been disclosed.
Taiwan investors cannot subscribe, and the transfer feature is limited
On the question of whether Taiwan investors can buy kTW50, the answer in the report was no. The product is available only to accredited investors and institutional investors under Singapore law, with a $10,000 minimum threshold. It is issued through KGI Asia and marketed to offshore investors, leaving Taiwan-based investors outside the eligible pool.
The report also addressed whether buying kTW50 means investors can trade Taiwan stocks 24 hours a day. It does not. DigiFT’s explanation is that 009816 still trades only during Taiwan Stock Exchange hours, while kTW50 may be transferred at any time only among whitelisted authorized holders. What changes is the transfer window between approved holders, not the trading schedule of the Taiwan stock market itself.