Wavebridge and Jito Foundation Sign MOU to Bring JitoSOL Institutional Products to South Korea

South Korean digital asset firm Wavebridge and Jito JTO$0.568-0.2% Jito Foundation signed a memorandum of understanding on July 27 to explore institutional products based on JitoSOL JitoSOL for South Korea's regulated market, according to the Foundation's official announcement.

MOU Scope: Custody, Product Design, and Settlement

Under the agreement, Wavebridge takes responsibility for asset custody, product structuring, and distribution and settlement infrastructure. Jito Foundation contributes technical documentation and staking mechanism expertise. A joint research report covering domestic digital asset ETFs is in preparation with several Korean financial institutions, including Hanwha Asset Management, FnGuide, KODA, and law firm Shin & Kim, planned for release at Korea Blockchain Week 2026.

Product launches are contingent on development of South Korea's regulatory framework for institutional digital assets and require partnerships with licensed Korean asset managers.

Oh Jong-wook, CEO of Wavebridge, cited structural gaps as the driver:

Mark Liu, Jito Foundation's Head of Asia-Pacific, described Wavebridge as the appropriate local infrastructure partner: "This collaboration is the first step in building infrastructure from a long-term perspective."

Wavebridge as KoFIU-Registered Prime Broker

Wavebridge is a Seoul-based institutional prime broker and digital asset custodian registered with South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) as a Virtual Asset Service Provider. The VASP designation is required to offer regulated digital asset services to institutional clients in Korea and places Wavebridge among a limited set of licensed operators in the market.

The company has signed a series of institutional infrastructure agreements in recent months. In October 2025, Wavebridge signed an MOU with the Solana Foundation on a KRW stablecoin and money market fund tokenization. In June 2026, it joined KB Securities and Canton Foundation in an agreement on security token offering infrastructure.

Jito Foundation's Korea Institutional Buildout

The Wavebridge agreement is the third Korea-focused institutional partnership Jito Foundation has announced in 2026. In February, the Foundation signed with Hanwha Asset Management, South Korea's oldest ETF issuer, to develop JitoSOL-based exchange-traded products. In April, it partnered with KODA, Korea's largest digital asset custodian, on compliant custody and staking workflows for institutional clients.

The three agreements cover distinct roles in the Korean institutional stack: a licensed asset manager capable of issuing regulated products, a custodian to hold digital assets on behalf of institutions, and now a prime broker to handle product structuring and settlement. Together they point to Jito Foundation building the infrastructure required to support regulated JitoSOL products in Korea before any specific product can launch.

JitoSOL and International Institutional Context

JitoSOL holds over 14 million SOL in deposits, according to the Jito Foundation, making it the largest liquid staking token on Solana, with 190,189 token holders tracked by Solana Compass as of July 27. International institutional interest has grown alongside the Korea buildout: VanEck has filed with Nasdaq seeking SEC approval for a JitoSOL-based ETF, and 21Shares launched a Solana ETP in Europe incorporating Jito staking yields. Coinbase also recently accepted JitoSOL as collateral for USDC loans.

The Wavebridge MOU adds Korea to the list of jurisdictions where institutional-grade JitoSOL structures are under active development, with all three Korean partnerships still in feasibility and design phases pending regulatory approvals.