Korea is a retail-centric market with high trading turnover, rapid decision-making, and strong user engagement, which makes it a favorable proving ground for on-chain real-world asset issuance. Real-world assets (RWA) refer to traditional financial instruments such as government bonds, money market funds, private credit, real estate, and equities that are tokenized on a blockchain to streamline trading, holding, and settlement.
RWA’s TVL has surpassed $400 million, and wallet-holder counts place the sector at the top of the industry. The market expanded from about $5.5 billion at the start of last year to roughly $18.8 billion today, representing more than threefold growth. However, total RWA holders are around 800,000, indicating that the global capital market remains in an early stage.
Industry leaders note that RWA today largely mirrors traditional finance on-chain, which can constrain liquidity and access, and internal asset linkage and utility within ecosystems remain modest. To broaden participation, experts call for a vertical integration approach, broad distribution channels, and strict regulatory compliance to drive liquidity and actual market trading.
Plume Network aims to convert Korea’s high-quality assets into on-chain structures for global investors, serving as a bridge to attract foreign capital while integrating asset issuance, distribution, and regulatory frameworks into a holistic collaboration. It is collaborating with domestic custodian Bidex to issue won-stablecoins and is expanding engagement with crypto communities and regulators.
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