# Ripple Expands Korean Partnerships as Retail Traders Shift Focus to AI Tokens

- URL: https://stocks.freetheai.org/news/ripple-expands-korean-partnerships-as-retail-traders-shift-focus-to-ai-tokens-2b22e0
- Published: 2026-10-14T12:00:54Z
- Category: crypto; sentiment: mixed; impact: medium
- Symbols: [BITSTAMP:XRPUSD](https://stocks.freetheai.org/symbols/BITSTAMP-XRPUSD), [BITSTAMP:WLDUSD](https://stocks.freetheai.org/symbols/BITSTAMP-WLDUSD), [BITSTAMP:BTCUSD](https://stocks.freetheai.org/symbols/BITSTAMP-BTCUSD)
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Ripple has entered a partnership with South Korea's Meritz Securities to explore bringing custody and tokenization services to local capital markets. Meritz becomes Ripple's fourth Korean institutional partner this year, joining Kyobo Life Insurance, Kbank, and Jeonbuk Bank. The collaboration will start within existing regulatory guidelines, with Meritz also examining security tokens, spot exchange-traded funds, trading platforms, and won-based stablecoins.

The institutional expansion comes as retail trading dynamics in South Korea undergo a shift. While institutions prepare digital asset strategies, retail investors have moved capital away from payment tokens such as XRP toward artificial intelligence tokens. Annual trading in AI tokens outpaced payment tokens, with Worldcoin generating $7.41 billion in trading volume through June 2026. Furthermore, monthly XRP trading volume on the Upbit exchange dropped from 28.94 billion tokens in November 2024 to 3.54 billion tokens in September 2026, though XRP still held the top spot in 24-hour turnover on October 14 at about 80.5 billion won.

Investors will monitor how quickly South Korean financial institutions move from testing tokenization infrastructure to live commercial rollouts as the national regulatory framework matures. Additionally, market participants will watch whether institutional adoption can support long-term valuation as XRP remains roughly 62% below its July 2025 peak of $3.65.

## Key points

- Ripple partnered with Meritz Securities to test custody and tokenization tools in South Korea's capital markets.
- Meritz Securities is Ripple's fourth South Korean institutional partner in 2026.
- South Korean retail trading in AI tokens like Worldcoin grew while monthly XRP trading volume on Upbit declined.
- XRP maintained top 24-hour trading value on Upbit at approximately 80.5 billion won on October 14, 2026.

## Questions and answers

### What is Ripple's partnership with Meritz Securities?

Ripple partnered with Meritz Securities to explore bringing institutional digital asset custody and tokenization technology to South Korean capital markets. Meritz is also evaluating spot ETFs, security tokens, and stablecoins.

### How has XRP retail trading changed in South Korea?

South Korean retail trading interest has shifted toward AI tokens like Worldcoin. Monthly XRP volume on Upbit fell from 28.94 billion tokens in November 2024 to 3.54 billion tokens in September 2026, though XRP remains a top asset by daily trading value.