Ripple Signs Agreement with Korean Brokerage Firm

Ripple announced a partnership with South Korean brokerage firm Meritz Securities – the first deal with a Korean securities firm and the fourth institutional partnership in the country this year. The company announced this on Wednesday, October 14.

The parties will explore the implementation of Ripple Custody and tokenization infrastructure in South Korea's capital markets. The work will begin within Meritz's permissions and current regulations, with phased expansion as digital asset rules develop.

Meritz Securities is a key subsidiary of Meritz Financial Group, one of Korea's largest financial holdings. The company provides brokerage services, sales and trading, corporate finance, and investment banking. In 2025, its consolidated net profit increased by 10% to approximately 766 billion won. Meritz is evaluating spot ETFs, fractional investment products, tokenized securities, trading platforms, and won-denominated stablecoins.

“Korea is one of the most dynamic digital asset markets in the world, and its institutions are preparing to move from exploration to real application,” said Fiona Murray, Managing Director of Ripple for the Asia-Pacific region. “This partnership lays the foundation for integrating Ripple's global infrastructure with our capabilities in capital markets,” said Byungha Kang, Managing Director of Meritz Securities.

The agreement adds capital markets to Ripple's network of Korean partners: Kyobo Life Insurance uses Ripple Custody for tokenized government bond settlements, Kbank is implementing wallet infrastructure, and Jeonbuk Bank became the first regional bank in Korea with Ripple Payments for cross-border transfers.

Following the news, XRP traded around a daily high of $1.38 – 4% above the low. Trading volume fell by 19%. According to CoinGlass, open interest in XRP futures rose by 0.31% to $3.01 billion over 4 hours, on CME and Binance by more than 0.22% and 0.75%, respectively.