Plume and Shinhan Asset Management test KRW tokenized fund pilot

The project will operate within an isolated third-party jurisdiction, strictly excluding South Korean residents. Both firms emphasized that the trial serves as a simulation rather than a commercial launch. There is no actual issuance or distribution of tokens, and the scope remains limited to testing compliance mechanisms, including whitelist controls, KYC, AML, and onchain operating processes. The initiative draws heavily on the operational structure of BlackRock’s BUIDL model, benchmarking its compliance design against Shinhan’s bond fund.

This pilot arrives ahead of South Korea’s new regulatory framework, which takes effect on February 4, 2027. Following the passage of amendments to the Electronic Registration Act and the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, the nation is establishing a legal basis for blockchain-based distributed ledgers to serve as recognized securities registries. Plume supports the technical side of the pilot through its Kimber Transfer Agency unit, which secured SEC registration in September 2025. While Plume recently joined the DTCC’s tokenization working group, the current collaboration remains an exploratory effort to assess whether domestic investment products can eventually integrate with global markets.