Cryptocurrency exchanges changing owners en masse? A battle for market share among South Korean financial giants.

Author: Chloe, ChainCatcher

Last week, South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Coinone officially announced the introduction of two heavyweight new shareholders. OKX Ventures, the venture capital arm of global exchange OKX, and Korea Investment & Securities (KIS), a major South Korean brokerage firm, will each acquire approximately 19.6% to 20% of the equity for 80 billion won (approximately US$53 million), totaling nearly 40%. OKX Ventures and KIS will then become the third-largest shareholders.

On the surface, this transaction is a story of "foreign capital knocking on the door of South Korea," similar to Binance's acquisition of Gopax, where OKX becomes another leading international player directly holding a significant stake in a licensed South Korean exchange. However, if we zoom out, the real protagonist of this transaction is actually the South Korean brokerage firm that operates alongside OKX.

Kim Sung-hwan, CEO of Korea Investment & Securities (KIS), also revealed the motivation: "This is our first step from traditional finance to blockchain digital financial services." For KIS, Coinone is a springboard, allowing it to enter new battlegrounds such as the issuance and circulation of security tokens (STOs), stablecoin-related services, digital asset brokerage, and institutional-grade crypto businesses. It can be said that even this transaction, packaged as "foreign capital entering the market," is primarily driven by a local Korean brokerage firm, with foreign capital appearing more like a few financial investors hitching a ride. And this Coinone transaction, placed within the context of the past three months, is merely the tip of the iceberg of the entire Korean crypto landscape. Samsung subsidiaries each have their own agendas. Just one day before the Coinone deal, on May 28th, three Samsung Group subsidiaries—Samsung Securities, Samsung SDS, and Samsung Credit Card—jointly announced that they would invest approximately 612.8 billion won (approximately US$408 million to US$446 million) to acquire a 4% stake in Dunamu, the parent company of Upbit, South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange. Samsung Securities will acquire 2%, while Samsung SDS and Samsung Credit Card will each acquire 1%. The transaction will be conducted entirely in cash, acquiring approximately 1.39 million shares from Kakao-affiliated funds (including Kakao Investment and Kakao Ventures), with the transaction expected to close on June 19th. It's worth noting the valuation: at approximately 439,000 won per share, Dunamu's overall enterprise value is estimated at approximately 15.3 trillion won, or about $11.1 billion. The seller, a Kakao-affiliated fund, exited Dunamu entirely through this large transaction, symbolizing the replacement of "old shareholders" with "new faces" on the South Korean crypto landscape. Furthermore, the three Samsung subsidiaries each entered the market with different strategies, which almost perfectly correspond to the three pillars of South Korea's Digital Asset Basic Law, expected to be finalized in 2026: Samsung Securities' focus on the issuance and circulation of security tokens and virtual asset-related services, corresponding to STOs and tokenized securities. Samsung SDS, as the group's IT and cloud division, plans to integrate its artificial intelligence, information security, and data governance capabilities into Dunamu's blockchain operational infrastructure, corresponding to the underlying technological infrastructure. Samsung Credit Card, on the other hand, targets the digital asset payment ecosystem, planning to integrate crypto payments into Monimo, the unified platform of Samsung Financial Network, after the launch of the Korean Won stablecoin, directly corresponding to the stablecoin payment track. In other words, Samsung is not treating this 4% as a simple financial investment, but as a piece of the puzzle in the group's financial services strategy for the next decade. A Samsung source told the Korea Times that this move aims to strengthen the competitiveness of its subsidiaries in the digital asset business and help the group achieve a leading position in the market. For one of South Korea's most influential chaebols, this is tantamount to announcing to the market that it is building a complete digital asset infrastructure, not gambling. With traditional funds flocking to the market, is virtual asset trading a blue ocean? Let's rewind a bit further. In mid-May, Hana Bank agreed to acquire a 6.55% stake in Dunamu for approximately 1 trillion won (about $670 million to $720 million), becoming the first South Korean financial holding group to directly hold equity in a cryptocurrency exchange. Less than ten days later, Hanwha Investment & Securities approved an additional 3.90%, raising its stake to 9.84% and investing an extra 597.8 billion won, becoming one of Dunamu's largest non-founding shareholders. Furthermore, Mirae Asset, through its subsidiary Mirae Asset Advisors, signed an agreement in February to acquire a 92.06% controlling stake in Korbit, South Korea's fourth-largest exchange, for approximately 133.5 billion won. From the industry leader Upbit and the third-largest Coinone to Korbit, almost every major exchange in South Korea has seen a traditional financial entity take over its reins within just a few months. Why are these traditional funds so eager to invest? Dunamu's financial figures provide part of the answer: in fiscal year 2025, it achieved revenue of 1.56 trillion won and net profit of 708.8 billion won, effectively controlling over 80% of South Korea's virtual asset trading volume. For banks and securities firms, the significance of this pie is self-evident. The market landscape is chaotic, with various institutions making early moves. A report released last week by research firm Tiger Research analyzed 150 institutions and 196 partnerships in South Korea, reaching a key conclusion: no single hub has yet gained dominant market control. The complex relationship diagram accurately reflects the current market chaos, revealing that various institutions are simultaneously positioning themselves across different sectors before regulatory decisions are finalized. This can be described as an "Exchange Equity Scramble," reflecting the series of moves by Asiana, Hanwha, Samsung, Mirae Asset, and KIS. Analysts believe the essence of this competition is a "revaluation" of the value of cryptocurrency exchanges: exchanges are no longer just fee-collecting trading platforms, but key customer touchpoints for distributing stablecoins, custody services, security tokens, and RWA products. For banks and securities firms, investing in exchanges is a shortcut: they can indirectly obtain licenses such as VASP registration and gain immediate access to the exchange's existing user base and liquidity. Further analysis of this competition reveals three main battlefronts: stablecoins, STOs, and custody. The maturity levels of the three fronts vary considerably. The most active is the custody sector, with several companies already providing services after overcoming regulatory hurdles. The four major custody providers—KODA, KDAC, BDACS, and BitGo Korea—have each partnered with financial and technology companies. RWA and STO are mostly stuck in the contract or MOU stage, awaiting legislative approval. Stablecoins are similarly stalled, with no single party claiming dominance in standard setting. The biggest hurdle isn't technology, but legislation. The Bank of Korea is pushing for the "51% rule," advocating that only consortia with a majority stake held by banks can issue stablecoins, which has met with strong opposition from fintech companies, repeatedly delaying cross-party negotiations. This current wave of collaborations and acquisitions shouldn't be interpreted as typical business development, but rather as institutions securing advantageous arrangements before regulatory finalization, then using these arrangements to influence the final regulatory framework. The current alliances and mergers are less about seizing market share and more about "designing regulations." Supporting this judgment is the clear shift in market focus. Analysis indicates that the South Korean crypto market has undergone a significant restructuring in just six months: a custody camp has taken shape, an STO alliance has formed, financial giants are vying to invest in exchanges, and retail trading volume has shrunk rapidly, with the combined trading volume of the five major exchanges decreasing by approximately 48% year-on-year. The core of the market is rapidly shifting from retail investors to institutions. In conclusion, piecing together OKX's investment in Coinone, Samsung's acquisition of Dunamu, Hana and Hanwha's increased investment, and Mirae Asset's acquisition of Korbit reveals that they are actually different facets of the same story: a consolidation led by securities firms and banks, working together to reposition the South Korean crypto landscape from a "retail speculative trading arena" to a "traditional financial digital asset distribution gateway." However, since the operational integration has not yet materialized, most collaborations remain at the MOU level, and STOs and stablecoins are still awaiting legislation, the market remains hesitant and skeptical. This shift has also changed the way overseas cryptocurrency projects enter the South Korean market. Just as Solana became a partner of Shinhan Card and Avalanche became a partner of Mirae Asset, projects entering the South Korean market have shifted their primary focus from exchanges to partnerships with financial institutions and large corporations.