Solana Tests Institutional Tokenization in South Korea as Memecoin Boom Cools

South Korea’s Shinhan Asset Management has signed a four-party memorandum of understanding with the Solana Foundation, Etherfuse and Orca to test the tokenization of won-denominated ultra-short bond funds on the Solana blockchain.

Modeled on BlackRock’s BUIDL, the proof of concept will cover KYC/AML, blockchain operations, foreign-exchange compliance and on-chain liquidity.

The initiative comes as South Korea prepares a regulatory framework for security token offerings, or STOs.

The agreement does not amount to a live financial product or guarantee new capital will flow onto Solana. But it offers an early test of whether the network can support institutional financial products in one of Asia’s most closely watched digital-asset markets.

At the same time, Solana’s network data shows how sharply speculative activity has slowed.

According to Galaxy Research’s Solana Q2 2026 report, network fees fell about 44% from the previous quarter to roughly $50 million in the second quarter. That was about 6% of the nearly $900 million quarterly peak reached in late 2024 and early 2025.

The decline was driven largely by a prolonged slowdown in memecoin trading and lower maximum extractable value (ME) activity. Jito tips also fell alongside base and priority fees, pointing to less intensive trading across the network.

Memecoins and speculative trading helped make Solana one of the most active blockchains during the 2024–25 cycle.

The shift from memecoin speculation toward tokenized RWA could give Solana a more durable source of network activity and institutional demand. If the collab with Korean asset manager progresses from proof of concept to regulated products, it would provide a meaningful test of whether Solana can become infrastructure for broader financial markets.

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