Hanwha Investment & Securities has built a tokenized securities platform on Avalanche (AVAX) with blockchain firm FairSquare Lab, according to a Sunday Seoul Economic Daily report. Work began in 2025, with the platform designed to run across multiple networks including Avalanche and Hyperledger Besu. The launch lands months before South Korea's amendments take effect on February 4, 2027, legally recognizing distributed ledgers as securities registers and folding security tokens into the existing capital markets framework.
The Financial Services Commission, South Korea's top financial regulator, has laid out a three-stage implementation roadmap for the amendments. The first stage, beginning in February, permits tokenization of privately placed money market funds, bonds, unlisted stocks via a trust wrapper, and fractional investment securities. If the rollout proves successful, the FSC plans to open tokenization to all publicly offered securities and ultimately build onchain payment rails that let investors settle tokenized securities with stablecoins.
Why it matters
Hanwha is the institutional anchor for a domestic push that already extends across the broader group. Hanwha Group built a 9.6% stake in Securitize (SECZ) over several years through three affiliates, becoming the firm's largest shareholder. In July, the group's investment and securities arm also committed 30 billion Korean won ($22.3 million) to Canton Network operator Digital Asset. The Avalanche platform is the third leg of a deliberate cross-chain, cross-rail accumulation strategy, not a single proof-of-concept.
Market impact
The build timing inverts the usual institutional sequence. Brokers typically wait for legal certainty before deploying infrastructure; Hanwha is shipping infrastructure first and aligning with a regulator's staged glidepath. For Avalanche, a live tokenized securities venue from one of Korea's largest brokerages is a real-world reference customer in a category where the network has competed head-to-head with permissioned chains.
Frequently asked questions
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What did Hanwha build on Avalanche?
Hanwha Investment & Securities developed a tokenized securities platform on Avalanche with blockchain firm FairSquare Lab, according to Seoul Economic Daily. Work began in 2025, with the platform designed to operate across Avalanche and Hyperledger Besu.
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When do South Korea's tokenized securities laws take effect?
South Korea's security token amendments take effect on February 4, 2027, legally recognizing distributed ledgers as securities registers and folding security tokens into the existing capital markets system.
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What does the FSC's three-stage roadmap include?
The Financial Services Commission will first allow tokenization of privately placed money market funds, bonds, unlisted stocks via a trust wrapper, and fractional investment securities. If successful, the roadmap expands to all publicly offered securities and ultimately onchain payment rails for stablecoin settlement.
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How else has Hanwha Group invested in blockchain and tokenization?
Hanwha Group built a 9.6% stake in Securitize (SECZ) through three affiliates, becoming its largest shareholder. In July, the group's investment and securities firm also committed 30 billion Korean won ($22.3 million) to Canton Network operator Digital Asset.
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Why does Hanwha's timing matter for the broader RWA market?
Hanwha is shipping live tokenization infrastructure months before the legal mandate takes effect, inverting the usual sequence where brokers wait for regulatory certainty. For Avalanche, the platform is a real-world reference customer in tokenized securities, a category where the network has competed against…
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