Meritz Securities signs MoU with Optimism to study tokenized financial products

South Korean brokerage Meritz Securities has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Optimism Foundation, the organization behind Ethereum Layer 2 network Optimism (OP), to cooperate on tokenized financial assets. In a blog post on Oct. 21, the foundation said the two sides "will examine structures for the issuance, settlement and distribution of tokenized financial assets using OP Stack-based networks, including OP Mainnet." The foundation named Meritz alongside KB Securities and DB Securities as Korean securities firms exploring tokenization on the OP Stack.

What a brokerage does on a public chain

Tokenized financial assets are rights to products such as funds or bonds issued as tokens on a blockchain. The cooperation covers a business model that uses a public Layer 2, open to anyone, as the distribution and settlement infrastructure for such products. A Layer 2 is a secondary network that batches transactions on top of Ethereum and records the results on Ethereum.

Meritz said it would examine ways to take part in the supply and distribution of tokenized financial products backed by domestic assets, within the scope of applicable laws and its securities business license. It said the detailed scope of cooperation would reflect the development of Korea's security token regulatory framework and market conditions. It did not say which products it would offer or when.

"The significance of this agreement is that it examines the role a securities firm can play as tokenized financial assets are distributed and settled on a public Layer 2. We will review ways to cooperate with Optimism, putting investor protection and consistency with the regulatory framework first."

Meritz Securities representative

On Optimism's side, Jing Wang, CEO of OP Labs, said: "What makes it interesting is what happens when issuance and settlement sit on the same open network instead of in separate systems. Meritz is starting with a practical question, which is what role a securities firm plays in that." OP Labs is the core service provider for the Optimism Foundation.

DB in July, KB in September, now Meritz

The foundation has announced a series of agreements with Korean brokerages since July.

1. July 7DB Securities signs an MoU with the Optimism Foundation in New York to build infrastructure on the OP Stack over a two-year phased rollout for turning Jeju smart-farming, livestock and Korean IP assets into security tokens and real-world assets (RWA)
2. Sept. 23KB Securities signs an MoU with Securitize and Optimism, starting on OP Mainnet with a tokenized money market fund (MMF) and a fund built on a KB Asset Management flagship strategy for Korean institutional investors
3. Oct. 21Meritz Securities signs an MoU with the Optimism Foundation to examine taking part in the supply and distribution of tokenized products backed by domestic assets

The three agreements differ in structure. DB Securities builds its own platform, while Optimism provides only the blockchain infrastructure underneath. Under the KB deal, KB Securities issues and distributes the products, Securitize advises on the initial structure and then, depending on the final structure, provides the tokenization platform, fund administration and transfer-agent services, and Optimism provides the technical infrastructure on OP Mainnet. Meritz is still at the review stage, with no division of roles set.

A firm with 8 trillion won in equity prepares for digital assets

The foundation described Meritz as a Korean comprehensive financial investment company with standalone shareholders' equity of 8.35 trillion won as of June 2026. According to the announcement, Meritz is exploring a range of opportunities, including spot ETFs, fractional investment and security tokens, trading platforms and won-denominated stablecoins, in preparation for the integration of digital assets into the regulated financial system.

The foundation said more than 50 production chains run on the OP Stack and that they averaged more than 900 million transactions a month from January through September 2026. It said stablecoin transfer volume settled on OP Stack chains over the same period reached $35 trillion.

OP at 161 won on Upbit, down 6% on the day

OP is listed on the Korean won markets of both Upbit and Bithumb. At around 10:30 p.m. KST on Oct. 22, OP traded at 161 won on Upbit, 6.4% below the previous close of 172 won. It was also 161 won on Bithumb. At the same time it traded at $0.1202 on Binance, down 7.0% over 24 hours, putting Upbit's kimchi premium (the gap between prices on Korean exchanges and global markets) at about 1.0%. The broader market was weak, with bitcoin and ether each down about 2% on the day.