Singapore-based blockchain platform DigiFT has signed a memorandum of understanding with Arco, a provider of institutional onchain operating infrastructure, to expand the distribution of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) to institutional investors across Asia.

The partnership will initially target South Korea, with the two companies seeking to connect traditional financial products with regulated, blockchain-based capital markets. The agreement reflects a wider push within the digital asset industry to build institutional-grade infrastructure around tokenized securities, funds and other real-world investments.

Under the arrangement, DigiFT and Arco plan to combine DigiFT’s regulated marketplace with Arco’s institutional onchain infrastructure to establish a compliant distribution framework for tokenized real-world assets, beginning in South Korea.

South Korea was selected as the initial market because of its active digital asset sector, its sophisticated investor base and rising institutional interest in blockchain-based financial products. The country’s regulatory approach to digital assets has also been developing gradually, creating a potentially more defined environment for institutional participation.

Combining Regulated Markets With Onchain Infrastructure

Under the proposed collaboration, DigiFT intends to use Arco’s Issuer OS and its institutional capital-routing infrastructure to connect its regulated marketplace with investors in South Korea and, eventually, other Asian markets.

Arco’s Issuer OS is designed to help institutions issue and manage digital assets, while the company’s infrastructure is intended to move institutional capital through onchain systems. DigiFT, for its part, operates a regulated marketplace that can provide additional oversight for digital investment products.

The companies aim to create a pipeline through which regulated investment products can be distributed to institutional clients using blockchain-based infrastructure. Potential products include tokenized securities and funds, allowing traditional financial interests to be represented digitally while remaining within an established regulatory framework.

The arrangement is not an acquisition or merger. Rather, the memorandum establishes a framework for DigiFT and Arco to explore joint opportunities and develop their respective businesses in the institutional tokenization market.

Compliance Remains Central to Regional Expansion

The partnership underscores the growing importance of regulatory compliance as blockchain companies push into institutional financial markets. Instead of building separate systems that operate independently of traditional finance, the two firms intend to integrate onchain infrastructure with existing investment and distribution mechanisms.

The proposed framework could give institutional investors easier access to tokenized assets while addressing concerns around custody, settlement, operational processes and regulatory compliance. The combination of regulated market access and specialized blockchain infrastructure could reduce some of the legal and operational complexities associated with digital assets, and it could also provide a more structured route to exposure to tokenized versions of traditional investments.

The focus on South Korea makes the initial rollout particularly important, since it gives the companies a defined test case for how regulated tokenized distribution can work in practice before any broader regional expansion. A successful implementation could give DigiFT and Arco a framework that may be adapted for other Asian financial centers, including Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

DigiFT announced the partnership in a post on X:

DigiFT x Arco are taking on one of RWA’s biggest bottlenecks: distribution.

The race is shifting from simply issuing tokenized assets to building the rails that connect regulated products with institutional capital.

First market: South Korea.

Regulated marketplace.… pic.twitter.com/4k5l0Nr72a

— DigiFT (@DigiFTTech) August 20, 2026

Tokenized Assets Gain Institutional Momentum

The agreement comes amid a broader shift toward integrating blockchain technology with traditional financial infrastructure. Financial institutions and technology providers have increasingly explored tokenization as a way to digitize ownership and investment interests while improving the efficiency of issuance, settlement and recordkeeping.

DigiFT and Arco are positioning their collaboration around this convergence between traditional finance and blockchain networks. The objective is not simply to create another digital asset marketplace, but to develop infrastructure capable of supporting institutional distribution under regulatory safeguards.

The partnership marks a step toward expanding regulated tokenized real-world assets beyond individual markets and toward establishing infrastructure that could support wider institutional adoption across Asia.

As the companies move beyond the memorandum and assess potential implementation opportunities, the effectiveness of their South Korean strategy will be an important test for how the two firms translate the agreement into an operating distribution framework. If the framework proves workable, it could serve as a model for extending regulated onchain investment products into additional Asian jurisdictions.

For the regional market, the initiative highlights the growing focus on making tokenized assets accessible through compliant channels and infrastructure capable of meeting institutional requirements.