Ripple has a fourth Korean partner. XRP’s role is still unclear

Ripple added Meritz Securities to its South Korean institutional partnerships on October 14, extending a set of deals across banking, insurance and capital markets. The announcement concerns exploration of custody and tokenization services. It does not say that Meritz has launched a product, issued a security on the XRP Ledger or committed to use XRP. Separating those steps is essential to understanding what the partnership adds. Ripple announced its fourth Korean institutional partnership of 2026 and its first with a securities firm. Meritz will explore custody and tokenization within its existing securities business and current regulation.