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Mirae Asset Securities launched MAPS (Mirae Asset Portfolio Service) in Hong Kong on June 29, 2026, making it the first Korean brokerage to hold a retail digital asset trading license from Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). The mobile platform consolidates traditional securities and cryptocurrency trading in a single interface, and serves as the opening move in the company's formal strategy to merge its conventional brokerage business with digital asset infrastructure.

The SFC granted final approval for retail digital asset trading to Mirae Asset's Hong Kong subsidiary in April 2026. That clearance positions the firm to operate alongside the licensed Virtual Asset Trading Platforms (VATPs) registered under Hong Kong's regulatory framework; as of May 2026, 13 VATPs held SFC licenses, a group that includes HashKey Exchange and OSL Digital Securities. Hong Kong's governing principle for virtual asset oversight is explicit: same business, same risks, same rules. That framework, combined with the Stablecoins Ordinance that took effect August 1, 2025, has made the city one of the more predictable jurisdictions in Asia for firms building regulated crypto products. Tokenized product AUM in Hong Kong reached HK$10.7 billion (roughly $1.4 billion) as of March 2026, a sevenfold increase year-over-year across a separate set of 13 publicly offered products.

MAPS is the first consumer product released under what Mirae Asset calls its "Mirae Asset 3.0" strategy, which rests on three pillars: exchange-traded funds, AI-powered wealth management, and digital asset integration. The firm manages approximately 428 trillion won (around $280 billion) in global ETF assets, ranking it 11th worldwide by that measure. A dedicated unit called DigitalX has been set up within the Hong Kong subsidiary to handle tokenized real-world assets and digital bond activity. Earlier in 2026, Mirae Asset issued the first digital bond by a Korean brokerage in Hong Kong, establishing the operational groundwork before the MAPS launch. Mirae Asset Securities shares rose 6 percent to 42,750 won (about $28) on the day of the platform launch.

Mirae Asset's move comes as rival Korean brokerages accelerate their own digital asset ambitions. Korea Investment and Securities has partnered with Bithumb, one of South Korea's largest crypto exchanges. Hanwha Asset Management has committed 100 billion won to BitMine and is developing a Solana-based exchange-traded product. Daishin Securities has acquired Kasa Korea, a real-estate tokenization platform. The simultaneous push by multiple firms underscores how consequential Mirae Asset's status as the first Korean brokerage to secure an SFC retail digital asset trading license is within the competitive landscape.

Founder-chairman Park Hyeon-joo, speaking at the launch, described MAPS as the start of the firm's next two decades in Hong Kong. He said the platform should move beyond displaying prices to deliver "knowledge, information and investment philosophy" to users. In a separate interview earlier this year, he framed the broader business logic: "The success or failure of an asset manager ultimately depends on products that capture the future. Killer products transform structural changes that may still appear distant and uncertain into investable opportunities for clients." Seong Jun-yeop, head of Mirae Asset Securities Hong Kong, said in April, when the SFC license was announced, that the approval enables the firm to "build a new investment ecosystem connecting traditional and digital assets," with a goal of integrating real-world assets and tokenized digital assets into the mobile platform over time.

The domestic piece of the strategy centers on Korbit, South Korea's fourth-largest regulated crypto exchange. Mirae Asset agreed earlier in 2026 to acquire 92.06 percent of Korbit for approximately 133.5 billion won (around $93 million). Sellers included NXC, the parent company of gaming firm Nexon, and SK Square. The remaining stake is held by Bitstamp, which is owned by Robinhood. The acquisition is not without regulatory risk. South Korean authorities are reviewing whether to impose ownership caps on large shareholders of crypto exchanges under the forthcoming Digital Asset Basic Act, a development that could require Mirae Asset to reduce its Korbit stake. No final ruling has been issued.

For investors and developers outside Korea, the MAPS launch carries structural weight. India is explicitly cited as one of four markets whose mobile trading experience shaped the platform's architecture, alongside Korea, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Mirae Asset already operates in India through m.Stock (formerly Sharekhan), a zero-brokerage platform serving millions of retail investors. Research analysts note that MAPS in Hong Kong could eventually function as a regulated corridor for Indian high-net-worth investors seeking digital asset exposure through a known brand, particularly given India's still-ambiguous crypto tax and compliance environment. In Africa, where users in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana routinely toggle between separate apps for equities and crypto, the MAPS model of a single regulated interface is relevant as a design and regulatory reference point. The SFC's VATP licensing framework offers a working template for regulators in those markets who are navigating the same integration challenge.

Expansion to Japan, the United States, and Singapore is in Mirae Asset's pipeline. The company has also set concrete targets in China: 50 billion yuan (approximately $7.35 billion) in venture capital and secondary investments, and 1 trillion yuan in client assets, according to the Korea Herald. The global market for tokenized real-world assets stands at roughly $24.9 billion as of mid-2026, according to industry estimates, with industry reports citing Citigroup projecting that the combined digital securities and tokenized asset market could reach $7 trillion by 2030. Whether MAPS can capture a meaningful share of that market will depend on how quickly the firm builds out its product catalog and whether the Korbit regulatory question resolves in its favor at home.