Despite start of tokenized securities institutionalization… related stocks' prices plunged one after another

Korea Economic Daily

Summary

Reported that the bill to institutionalize tokenized securities issuance (STO) passed the National Assembly standing committee's bill subcommittee, but related stocks' stock prices showed a downward trend.
It was analyzed that the period until entry into the institutional framework and the limitations on issuable token securities affected investor sentiment.
It is expected that the fractional investment market will expand if the bill is implemented, and that an OTC exchange will be opened and platform standardization will be realized.

Related bill passed the National Assembly's bill subcommittee

Finger·K-Auction and others rather weak

Over-the-counter exchange may launch as early as next year

A bill to institutionalize tokenized securities issuance (STO) passed the National Assembly's standing committee bill subcommittee on the 24th, but related stocks showed weakness. Analysts say that it will take a long time to be incorporated into the institutional framework and that the token securities that can be issued are limited to new types of securities, which affected stock prices.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 25th, STO-related stocks such as Finger(-11.37%), K-Auction(-9.01%), Galaxia Moneytree(-7.95%), Seoul Auction(-2.55%) plunged one after another. ITCEN Global(1.70%), SGA Solutions(1.23%), Uracle(0.84%) only rose slightly. An industry insider explained, "Market interest has declined as it will take three years for the bill to pass," and "many profit-taking sell orders emerged on the judgment that expectations for the activation of the token securities market had already been reflected in stock prices."

The securities industry expects the related market to grow to about 360 trillion won by 2030 as fractional investment targets expand beyond physical assets to content, copyrights, etc. If the bill is enacted, fractional shares that have been traded only within platforms will be able to be bought and sold in a standardized manner on a dedicated over-the-counter exchange. Currently, three consortia—KDX, NextTrade, LucentBlock—are participating in the preliminary license application for the OTC exchange. KDX is developing a joint issuance platform with eight securities firms aiming to provide service by the end of next year. LucentBlock, a real estate fractional investment platform, plans to introduce a model of dividing and trading real-world content such as performances and sports as digital assets after licensing. The financial authorities plan to select up to two providers.

Kim Chae-young, Korea Economic TV reporter