[INTERVIEW] Wall Street-backed blockchain Canton Network expands footprint in Korea

Yuval Rooz, co-founder and CEO of Digital Asset, said Korea is poised to play a greater role in global finance as Canton Network expands through partnerships with Shinhan, Hanwha and KB. Canton facilitates more than $300 billion in daily value transfers for institutional finance. Rooz said regulation and Korea’s technology-ready market could accelerate adoption, while Canton addresses institutional privacy through configurable access controls.

Shinhan Financial Group signed an MOU with the Canton Foundation in June, followed by strategic investments in Digital Asset by Shinhan Securities and Shinhan Venture Investment in July.

Shinhan Asset Management became the first Korean financial institution approved as a Canton Network super validator this month.

Hanwha Investment & Securities signed an MOU with Digital Asset in April and invested around 30 billion won ($22.44 million) in July.

Canton combines public blockchain openness with configurable privacy and access controls for institutions operating across jurisdictions.

The Canton Foundation is an independent nonprofit whose members include Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas, HSBC and Nasdaq.

Published Oct 12, 2026 3:26 pm KST

Yuval Rooz, co-founder and CEO of Digital Asset, speaks during Korea Blockchain Week at Grand Walkerhill Seoul, Sept. 30. Courtesy of Korea Blockchain Week

Many crypto projects have sought to bring traditional finance onto blockchain, but few have gained as much traction as Canton Network, a privacy-focused blockchain for institutional finance.

Already embraced by financial heavyweights such as Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas and the London Stock Exchange Group, Canton is facilitating more than $300 billion in daily value transfers while deepening its presence in Korea through partnerships with major financial institutions, including Shinhan, Hanwha and KB.

Yuval Rooz, co-founder and CEO of Digital Asset, the company behind Canton Network, told The Korea Times in a recent one-on-one interview that Korea is poised to play a greater role in global finance, citing its tech-savvy population and growing institutional interest.

"Once the regulation takes place, and I believe that it will, you actually have a market that is already ready for the technology," Rooz said. "In other places, regulation might be ahead, but the customers and the companies are not ready for the technology."

Korean financial institutions are already expanding their involvement in Canton.

Shinhan Financial Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Canton Foundation in June, followed by strategic investments in Digital Asset by Shinhan Securities and Shinhan Venture Investment in July. Shinhan Asset Management also became the first Korean financial institution approved as a Canton Network "super validator" this month, paving the way for its participation in network operations.

Korea's $449 bil. crypto economy leads in East Asia: Chainalysis

[EXPLAINER] Institutions jockey for position in Korea's crypto market

Viv Diwakar, left, head of the Canton Foundation, poses with Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Jin Ok-dong, middle, and Digital Asset co-founder and CEO Yuval Rooz at Shinhan Financial Group's headquarters in Seoul after discussing cooperation on tokenized finance and digital asset infrastructure, Sept. 29. Courtesy of Shinhan Financial Group

In a separate interview, Viv Diwakar, head of the Canton Foundation, also highlighted the opportunity to connect Korean financial markets with international investors.

"If there's one thing that I would plant a flag in the sand for, it's the opportunity for Korean-issued equities to meet global capital," Diwakar said.

Rooz said much of the cryptocurrency market has been driven by speculation rather than lasting economic value, giving such activity a limited shelf life. He argued that blockchain's real opportunity lies in bringing traditional capital markets onchain, including stocks, bonds and repurchase agreements.

But moving traditional finance onto blockchain infrastructure requires overcoming a fundamental obstacle: privacy. Public blockchains are typically open and permissionless, posing challenges for institutions that must protect sensitive customer and transaction information.

"Imagine if someone came to a bank and said, 'Hey, I have a new database technology for you, but everybody will see all of your clients' information, and everybody can access your products whether you want it or not,'" Rooz said. "No bank would agree to that."

Canton addresses this problem by combining public blockchain openness with configurable privacy and access controls, allowing institutions to meet business and regulatory requirements across jurisdictions. Rooz compared the approach to the internet, where anyone can visit a bank's website but only authorized users can access its services.

Governance is another key feature that sets Canton apart from other blockchain networks, according to Diwakar.

Many public blockchains operate on the principle of decentralization, often leaving no single entity accountable for the network. Canton, by contrast, is governed by the Canton Foundation, an independent nonprofit organization whose members include major financial institutions and market infrastructure providers such as Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas, HSBC and Nasdaq.

Digital Asset联合创始人兼首席执行官Yuval Rooz表示，随着Canton Network通过与新韩、韩华和KB的合作不断扩张，韩国有望在全球金融领域扮演更重要的角色。Canton每天为机构金融机构促成超过3000亿美元的价值转移。Rooz指出，韩国的监管环境和技术成熟度高的市场将加速Canton的普及应用，同时Canton通过可配置的访问控制来保障机构隐私。

新韩金融集团于6月与坎顿基金会签署了谅解备忘录，随后新韩证券和新韩风险投资于7月对数字资产进行了战略投资。

新韩资产管理公司本月成为首家获准成为广交会超级验证机构的韩国金融机构。

韩华投资证券于 4 月与 Digital Asset 签署了谅解备忘录，并于 7 月投资了约 300 亿韩元（2244 万美元）。

Canton 将公共区块链的开放性与可配置的隐私和访问控制相结合，适用于跨司法管辖区运营的机构。

坎顿基金会是一个独立的非营利组织，其成员包括高盛、法国巴黎银行、汇丰银行和纳斯达克。

发布于2026年10月12日下午3:26（韩国标准时间）

Digital Asset联合创始人兼首席执行官Yuval Rooz于9月30日在首尔华克山庄酒店举行的韩国区块链周上发表讲话。图片由韩国区块链周提供。

许多加密项目都试图将传统金融引入区块链，但很少有项目能像 Canton Network 那样获得如此大的关注度，Canton Network 是一个专注于机构金融隐私的区块链。

Canton 已获得高盛、法国巴黎银行和伦敦证券交易所集团等金融巨头的认可，每天促成超过 3000 亿美元的价值转移，并通过与新韩、韩华和 KB 等主要金融机构的合作，不断深化其在韩国的业务。

Canton Network 背后的公司 Digital Asset 的联合创始人兼首席执行官 Yuval Rooz 在最近接受《韩国时报》的专访时表示，韩国凭借其精通技术的人口和日益增长的机构兴趣，有望在全球金融领域发挥更大的作用。

鲁兹表示：“一旦监管出台（我相信一定会出台），市场实际上已经为这项技术做好了准备。在其他一些地方，监管可能走在了前面，但消费者和企业还没有准备好接受这项技术。”

韩国金融机构已经开始扩大其在广州的业务。

新韩金融集团于6月与广州基金会签署了谅解备忘录，随后新韩证券和新韩风险投资于7月对数字资产进行了战略投资。本月，新韩资产管理公司也成为首家获准成为广州网络“超级验证者”的韩国金融机构，为其参与网络运营铺平了道路。

Chainalysis：韩国4490亿美元的加密经济规模领跑东亚。

【解读】机构竞相争夺韩国加密货币市场地位

9月29日，在首尔新韩金融集团总部，坎顿基金会主席维夫·迪瓦卡（左）与新韩金融集团董事长金玉东（中）以及数字资产联合创始人兼首席执行官尤瓦尔·鲁兹就代币化金融和数字资产基础设施方面的合作进行了讨论。照片由新韩金融集团提供。

在另一次采访中，坎顿基金会负责人维夫·迪瓦卡也强调了将韩国金融市场与国际投资者联系起来的机会。

“如果说有什么事情我会力挺，那就是韩国发行的股票有机会与全球资本对接，”迪瓦卡尔说。

Rooz表示，加密货币市场很大程度上是由投机而非持久的经济价值驱动的，因此这种活动寿命有限。他认为，区块链的真正机遇在于将包括股票、债券和回购协议在内的传统资本市场引入区块链。

但将传统金融迁移到区块链基础设施上需要克服一个根本性的障碍：隐私。公共区块链通常是开放且无需许可的，这给必须保护敏感客户和交易信息的机构带来了挑战。

鲁兹说：“想象一下，如果有人来到一家银行，说：‘嘿，我这里有一种新的数据库技术，但是所有人都能看到你们客户的所有信息，而且不管你们愿不愿意，所有人都能访问你们的产品。’没有哪家银行会同意的。”

Canton 通过将公共区块链的开放性与可配置的隐私和访问控制相结合来解决这个问题，使机构能够满足不同司法管辖区的业务和监管要求。Rooz 将这种方法比作互联网，任何人都可以访问银行的网站，但只有授权用户才能访问其服务。

迪瓦卡尔表示，治理是 Canton 与其他区块链网络区别开来的另一个关键特征。

许多公共区块链都遵循去中心化原则，通常没有单一实体对网络负责。相比之下，Canton 由 Canton 基金会管理，该基金会是一个独立的非营利组织，其成员包括高盛、法国巴黎银行、汇丰银行和纳斯达克等大型金融机构和市场基础设施提供商。