South Korea is taking another major step toward the use of blockchain in traditional finance. Hanwha Investment & Securities, one of the country’s major brokerage firms, has completed a tokenized securities platform that uses Avalanche as one of its main blockchain networks.
The news came on September 7, 2026, as South Korea prepares new rules for tokenized securities. The platform was developed with FairSquare Lab, a blockchain technology company. Work on the system began in 2025.
The platform does not rely only on Avalanche. It also supports Hyperledger Besu, an enterprise blockchain system. This gives Hanwha more than one option for the issue, transfer, and management of tokenized securities.
The move shows how traditional financial firms now see blockchain as more than a tool for crypto assets. The same technology can also help create a new system for stocks, bonds, funds, and other financial products.
What Are Tokenized Securities?
Tokenized securities are normal financial assets that exist in digital form on a blockchain or distributed ledger. These assets can include stocks, bonds, funds, and other products that already fall under financial market laws.
A simple example can help explain the idea. A company may have a bond that exists in a normal financial system. With tokenization, a digital version of that security can exist on a blockchain. The blockchain can record who owns the asset and how ownership changes from one person to another.
This does not mean the asset becomes a normal cryptocurrency. A tokenized bond or stock still represents a financial asset. It also remains subject to financial rules.
The main goal is to use blockchain technology to make parts of the financial system more digital, flexible, and easier to connect.
Why Hanwha Chose Avalanche
Hanwha’s platform can use Avalanche as well as Hyperledger Besu. This is important because the two systems have different features.
Hyperledger Besu is an enterprise-focused blockchain. It can suit financial firms that need a controlled network with known participants.
Avalanche offers a public blockchain ecosystem, but it also lets firms create separate networks with their own rules. Financial institutions can limit who can join a network and who can act as a validator.
That mix gives financial firms more control while still allowing them to use blockchain technology with a wider digital asset ecosystem.
Hanwha’s choice also has wider importance for Avalanche. The network has spent years trying to build a role in finance, tokenization, and real-world assets. A major South Korean brokerage that uses Avalanche for a securities platform gives the network another connection to the traditional financial sector.
South Korea Prepares New Rules
The timing of Hanwha’s platform is important. South Korea has already approved legal changes that will recognize tokenized securities within the existing financial system.
The new rules are set to take effect on February 4, 2027.
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission has also set out a three-stage plan for the wider use of tokenized securities.
The first stage will start in February 2027. It will cover privately placed money market funds and bonds for institutional investors. It will also cover unlisted stocks through a trust structure and publicly offered fractional investment securities.
If the first stage works well, the second stage will expand tokenization to all publicly offered securities.
The final stage could bring a much bigger change. South Korea wants to create on-chain payment infrastructure that could let investors settle tokenized securities with stablecoins.
This would connect blockchain-based assets with blockchain-based payments. It could create a much more complete digital financial system.
Korea Securities Depository Also Supports Avalanche
Hanwha is not the only major institution that sees value in Avalanche.
The Korea Securities Depository, or KSD, is also preparing infrastructure that can connect with several blockchain technologies. Its planned system can work with Hyperledger Besu, Hyperledger Fabric, and Avalanche.
This matters because a financial institution needs more than its own blockchain platform. It also needs a way to connect that platform with the wider market.
The KSD system could help create that connection.
According to Seoul Economic Daily, the inclusion of Avalanche came after requests from several companies. The KSD did not choose the technology without market demand. Instead, private-sector interest helped shape the list of blockchain systems that the depository plans to support.
That suggests Avalanche already has some demand among financial firms in South Korea.
Hanwha Has Made More Blockchain Bets
The new platform is part of a wider blockchain strategy at Hanwha.
Three Hanwha affiliates have built a combined 9.6% stake in Securitize over several years. That makes Hanwha Group the largest shareholder in the company.
Securitize focuses on the tokenization of real-world assets and financial products. Its work has helped place it at the center of the tokenized asset market.
Hanwha Investment & Securities also disclosed a 30 billion Korean won ($22.3 million) investment in Digital Asset, the operator of Canton Network, in July.
These moves show that Hanwha is not treating tokenization as a short-term experiment. The company has placed capital into several parts of the blockchain finance sector.
Its latest Avalanche platform adds another piece to that strategy.
A Large Market Could Take Shape
South Korea could become an important market for tokenized securities.
Boston Consulting Group has estimated that the country’s tokenized securities market could reach about 367 trillion won, or around $250 billion, by 2030.
That figure shows why banks, brokerages, blockchain companies, and regulators are paying close attention to this sector.
The potential market covers much more than crypto. Stocks, bonds, funds, private assets, and fractional investments could all become part of the tokenized finance system.
For investors, the biggest change may come from easier access to assets that have been difficult to divide or trade. Fractional ownership, for example, can let investors hold a small part of an asset rather than buy the entire asset.
However, the market still needs strong rules, safe technology, and clear investor protection before it can reach its full size.
What This Means for Avalanche
For Avalanche, the Hanwha platform is a notable step into the traditional finance world.
The project does not mean all of Hanwha’s securities will move to Avalanche. The platform supports more than one blockchain. Still, its use of Avalanche shows that the network can have a role in regulated financial infrastructure.
It also comes at a time when South Korea is creating a clear legal path for tokenized securities.
That combination could help Avalanche gain more attention from banks, brokerages, asset managers, and other financial firms.
What Comes Next
The next major date is February 4, 2027, when South Korea’s new tokenized securities rules are due to take effect.
Before then, financial firms and market infrastructure providers have time to test their systems and prepare for the first phase.
Hanwha has already completed its platform. The KSD is also preparing connections to several blockchain networks.
The next question is how these systems will work once real financial assets enter the market.
If South Korea’s first phase proves successful, the country could move toward a much wider tokenized securities market. Public stocks, bonds, funds, and other assets could later gain a blockchain-based form.
The longer-term plan is even more ambitious. South Korea wants a system where tokenized securities can settle through on-chain payment rails and stablecoins.
For now, Hanwha’s Avalanche platform is an early but important part of that shift. It shows that blockchain and traditional finance are moving closer together, not only through crypto markets but also through regulated financial products.
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