First Digital Partners with ITCEN Group to Tokenize $72 Billion Worth of Korean Gold Assets
In a strategic move to bridge the gap between Korean physical gold assets and global dollar liquidity, First Digital has partnered with ITCEN Group, a South Korean technology and finance conglomerate.
The partnership aims to create a seamless flow of gold-backed digital assets between Korea's RWA market and international markets. To achieve this, First Digital will integrate its FDUSD stablecoin with KGLD, a digital asset backed by 100% physical gold reserves held by ITCEN.
According to the plan, ITCEN aims to tokenize up to 50 tons of gold over the next five years, equivalent to approximately $72 billion in assets. This would make it one of the largest compliant on-chain commodity tokenization initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region.
The partnership also extends to cross-border settlement and local regulatory compliance. First Digital plans to establish a branch in Korea by the fourth quarter of 2026 to fully comply with Korean financial authorities' regulations on cross-border capital and stablecoin issuance.