Hanwha Investment to Launch RWA Digital Asset Platform Next Year, Targeting Global Hub Status

Hanwha Investment & Securities plans to launch a digital asset platform based on real-world assets, or RWAs, early next year as it steps up its Web3 business. The company aims to win demand from institutions and wealthy clients through a "TraDeFi" model that combines the technical efficiency of decentralized finance, or DeFi, with the trust associated with traditional financial firms.

Son Jong-min, head of future strategy at Hanwha Investment & Securities, presented the plan at the ETHCapital Summit held on May 15 at the Raum Art Center in Seoul's Gangnam district. As investors and investment methods undergo fundamental change, traditional financial companies also need to participate more actively in the digital-asset ecosystem, he said.

Son said stablecoins have evolved from simple investment assets into a global means of payment. Global financial institutions including BlackRock are applying blockchain technology to asset management, he added. Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange are also preparing to trade tokenized stocks.

He said the DeFi ecosystem grew by addressing inefficiencies in the existing financial system. Faster payments and settlement, lower fees and global accessibility are areas where DeFi holds clear advantages. But the sector also has obvious limits, including a complicated user experience and the absence of investor-protection safeguards.

To address those issues, Son proposed building a TraDeFi ecosystem. The concept is to pair DeFi's technical convenience with the investor protections and trust offered by traditional financial institutions, creating an environment where clients can trade assets with confidence.

At the center of the strategy is a tentative product called DAP, short for digital asset platform, now in development for an early next-year launch. The platform is designed to improve access by tokenizing global real-world assets, with high-net-worth individuals and the newly affluent as its initial target market. In the early stage, the company plans to offer selected private-market assets that have been difficult for individual investors to access, including real estate and intellectual property.

The company is also pursuing overseas expansion. Rather than stopping at the proof-of-concept stage, it plans to build out a global business through hubs including its Southeast Asian operations, Son said. Hanwha Investment is preparing to offer services as soon as the regulatory environment becomes more flexible.

To support that effort, the company has already completed partnerships and equity investments with key global firms across tokenization, distribution and custody infrastructure.

Hanwha Investment aims to become the world's leading RWA hub through the platform, Son said. Beyond applying new technology, the company plans to link digital finance with customers' lifestyles to create new value.