KRX plans November 16 launch for new securities market with tokenized rights products

BlockBeats reported on August 22 that the Korea Exchange (KRX) plans to open a new securities market on November 16, while system construction and market participant preparations continue. Before the launch, KRX plans to run a six-week mock trading session from October 6 to November 13. The actual opening date may still change, depending on the approval process for listed products by financial regulators. The so-called new securities are financial products created by securitizing rights generated from various assets or businesses, unlike traditional securities such as stocks and bonds, which have standardized rights structures. Representative products include investment contract securities and non-monetary trust beneficiary securities. Artworks, real estate, music copyrights, film production and livestock operations can all be used as underlying assets for fractionalized investment products. Once the market opens, investors will be able to buy and sell the new securities through brokerage accounts. Trading hours will match the stock cash market, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and the initial trading method is expected to be limit orders. Products that had previously been traded only in limited form through various fractional investment platforms will enter KRX’s exchange market. The report described that shift as significant. The new market will also have listing requirements. At the same time, the report noted that KRX’s planned market should not be treated as a security token trading venue. The new securities to be traded on the exchange in November will initially be issued and registered under the current electronic securities system. Security tokens, by contrast, are securities issued and managed using a blockchain-based distributed ledger as the securities account book. South Korea’s Financial Services Commission created a legal basis for issuing security tokens through distributed ledger systems, as well as for the circulation of investment contract securities, via amendments to the Electronic Securities Act and the Capital Markets Act that passed the National Assembly in January this year. The laws will take effect on February 4, 2027, after supporting regulations and infrastructure are completed.