Seoul, South Korea, September 22nd, 2025, Chainwire
Seoul Exchange, One of Only Two Licensed Platforms For Unlisted Securities, Will Exclusively Use Story To Settle Tokenized RWAs
Partnership set to bring programmable assets to Korea’s $450b crypto market, the world’s second largest by trading volume
- Strategic collaboration to bring all of Seoul Exchange’s Trading Activity for Tokenized assets on Story.
- Seoul Exchange, one of only two licensed platforms for trading unlisted securities, will be choosing Story’s blockchain as an exclusive infrastructure partner focused on real-world assets (RWAs), unlocking a new class of compliant, investable digital securities.
- For the first 3 years, Seoul Exchange will use Story’s Layer-1 blockchain as the exclusive infrastructure for registering and settling tokenized assets.
- Transactions will be powered by Story’s native token ($IP), creating a fully on-chain marketplace for previously illiquid cultural and financial assets.
- The collaboration will focus on tokenizing Korean content IP, including K-pop royalties, K-drama rights, webtoons, games, and patents, making these global cultural phenomena investable for the first time. Notable IP already registered on Story includes BLACKPINK, BTS, Psy, and Pinkfong (Baby Shark)
Seoul Exchange and Story Protocol have entered into an agreement to build Korea’s first dedicated blockchain exchange for tokenized cultural and intellectual property assets. The collaboration outlines how Seoul Exchange will launch a regulated RWA trading platform powered entirely by Story’s blockchain infrastructure for the next 3 years.
Seoul Exchange is a fintech company that provides brokerage services for unlisted stocks of startups and venture companies through its unlisted securities trading platform “Seoul Exchange.” It is one of only two platforms officially selected by the Korean government to operate under the financial regulatory sandbox. Seoul Exchange has received investment from leading Korean and global VCs such as Hashed, SoftBank Ventures, Capstone Partners, and POSCO Technology Investment.
Under the agreement, Seoul Exchange will use Story as the sole infrastructure provider for registering and settling tokenized offerings. For an initial term 3 years, all listings on the exchange ranging from music IP and webtoons to patents and private securities, will be recorded on Story’s network, leveraging its composable architecture and native $IP token economy.
IP is expected to become Korea’s leading real-world asset (RWA) category, with Story positioned as the exclusive chain for Seoul Exchange’s IP tokenization. Story is a Layer-1 blockchain purpose-built to make intellectual property programmable. Backed by $136 million from a16z, Polychain, and Samsung Ventures, Story launched its mainnet in early 2025 and has quickly become a leading infrastructure for tokenized IP.
Korea is home to some of the world’s most successful creative exports, but monetizing IP remains limited to insiders. This new trading platform aims to change that. By bringing IP onchain, Story and Seoul Exchange are unlocking a new class of fractional, transparent, and globally accessible digital securities. Global IP is valued at over $80 trillion, yet most of it remains illiquid and inaccessible. This partnership aims to unlock IP and other real-world assets (RWAs) via blockchain, allowing global investors to own, trade, and earn from high-value creative works.
Korean storytellers have captured the world’s imagination. Global hits like K-POP Demon Hunter became Netflix’s most-popular film of all time with 236 million views in the first nine weeks. Parasite won Best Picture at the Oscars. Squid Game became Netflix’s most-watched show. Baby Shark is a global phenomenon. But behind this success lies a structural problem: creators rarely retain ownership or share in the long-term upside. Platforms like Netflix own the IP. Studios operate on thin margins. Even as Korean content goes global, the value flows elsewhere.This imbalance has sparked growing debate in Korea, with many voices calling for a new model that allows creators to break free from reliance on upfront financing and pre-production deals.
Story is introducing such an alternative through content tokenization. By enabling global fans to directly participate in fundraising, production companies can retain ownership of their IP and instead engage in distribution agreements that ensure fairer and more sustainable revenue models. This approach not only protects creators’ rights but also opens the door to a new, fan-driven economy in entertainment.
The platform will combine retail accessibility with institutional-grade compliance under Korean regulations. Should a Korean won-pegged stablecoin be approved by regulators, the platform is designed to support its integration it may be integrated for native currency settlement, further aligning with domestic financial infrastructure.
Tokenized content, including music rights, game universes, can be listed and traded by retail and institutional investors alike, all within Korea’s evolving STO regulatory sandbox.
Story Protocol is the world’s first Layer-1 blockchain purpose-built for IP. It enables IP to be registered, licensed, and monetized in real time, embedding royalties and usage terms directly into the tokenized representation of creative assets.
Backed by investors including a16z, Polychain, Hashed and Samsung Ventures, Story launched its mainnet in early 2025 and has already rapidly expanded its ecosystem and onboarded a diverse music collectives, DeFi protocols, and global entertainment IPs. For example, Story has already begun tokenizing major K-culture IP, including the music rights of leading K-pop artists (BTS, BLACKPINK, Psy, BIGBANG) and global artists (Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus)
Seoul Exchange’s integration makes Story the de facto infrastructure for Korea’s next wave of tokenized RWAs, positioning it as the blockchain gateway for cultural capital.
This partnership bridges Korea’s booming cultural industries with the world’s capital markets.
The platform will prioritize assets with strong fan engagement and long-term value potential, and will also support future integrations with financial products, remix licenses, and governance layers, bringing programmability to previously static IP rights.
Quotes from Leadership
JD Yang, CEO, Seoul Exchange:
“Through this collaboration, Seoul Exchange has further strengthened the stability and trust in the process of building our STO exchange. We aim to become Korea’s leading STO exchange through a differentiated tokenization model centered on IP and content.”
Seung-yoon “SY” Lee, Co-founder & CEO, Story Protocol:
“We see this as a landmark step in making Korea’s world-class cultural IP accessible to global investors. Story enables creators and platforms like Seoul Exchange to go beyond traditional licensing models to build liquidity, loyalty, and monetization around programmable IP. Intellectual property is the largest untapped asset class in the world, worth over $80 trillion, and with Korea now the second-largest crypto trading market in the world, the opportunity to pioneer new asset classes is massive. This partnership brings us one step closer to unlocking that value at global scale. With this move, Story will be one of only two chains powering RWAs in Korea, the second-largest crypto market in the world, confirming IP’s place at the center of Korea’s next blockchain growth cycle.”
About Story
Story is a Layer-1 blockchain purpose-built to make intellectual property programmable. Backed by $136 million from a16z, Polychain, and Samsung Ventures, Story launched its mainnet in early 2025 and has quickly become a leading infrastructure for tokenized IP. The network enables creators, developers, enterprises, and AI labs to register content as on-chain assets with embedded rights, turning media, data, and AI-generated works into legally enforceable digital property. By bridging the gap between outdated legal frameworks and the realities of the AI era, Story makes it possible to track provenance, automate licensing, and unlock new markets for ideas. As the foundation for IP’s evolution into an internet-native asset class, Story powers a more open, equitable, and composable creative economy.
Contact
Head of Communications
HV
Story
henri.vies@piplabs.xyz
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