Scaling Ethereum, Part 1: Optimism
Ethereum Korea One: Genesis · Day 1 · 2026-09-28 · 12:39 · In English
What can Layer 2 unlock for institutional asset tokenization? At Ethereum Korea One: Genesis, Optimism, KB Securities, and Payward (Kraken) discuss the tokenization value chain, from issuance to distribution to onchain infrastructure.
Speakers
- Kyle Jenke, COO, Optimism
- Jaeman Park, Head of AI•Digital Center, KB Securities
- Anthony Xie, Senior Director of Product II, Payward
- Kido Kim, Co-Founder, Nonce Classic (moderator)
About this session
Starting from the MOU among Optimism, Securitize, and KB Securities announced five days before the event, this panel explores what L2s open up for institutions. It covers why firms are moving before regulation is finalized, what criteria institutions use to choose a chain, what role Kraken's own L2, Ink, plays in tokenized assets, and why RWAs are accelerating now.
Key takeaways
- Kyle Jenke said strong momentum has been visible in Korea over the past six months, and that among firms waiting for regulatory clarity and firms investing early to be ready, KB Securities is in the latter group.
- Jaeman Park (KB Securities) said the MOU aims not only at cooperation in the US market but also at improving and advancing Korea's securities ecosystem. Just as same-day delivery changed daily habits, Park expects that once security tokens start delivering "same-day cash," the user experience across the whole market will change.
- Anthony Xie introduced Ink, built on the OP Stack, as a sandbox for experimenting with tokenized stocks. Xie said the team is expanding from large caps to small caps, commodities, and private market assets, and building integrated experiences such as Tydro, a lending protocol where users can deposit stocks as collateral and borrow against them.
- Xie added that, because xStocks supports multiple chains, Ink also wants to serve as a gateway that supplies liquidity to newly launched OP chains and others.
- On what institutions look for when choosing a chain, Kyle Jenke named three things: trust and track record (OP ranks second only to Ethereum in uptime), a mature partner ecosystem and global distribution, and control over privacy and compliance. For Korea, Jenke noted that local talent and engineers also matter.
- For why RWAs are accelerating, the panel cited governance (the 2022 boom bore no fruit because the rules were not in place, but legal and institutional support is now underway) and productivity (AI-driven AX lets securities operations handle work that would otherwise require 10 to 20 times the productivity). In the near term, KB Securities said it will focus on tokenizing structured securities such as bonds, equities, and funds.