South Korean financial conglomerates deployed approximately $1.55 billion into domestic crypto exchange stakes in May 2026 alone. Samsung Securities, Samsung SDS, and Samsung Card jointly acquired a 4% stake in Dunamu — operator of Upbit, the country's dominant exchange — for 612.8 billion won ($...
"This investment is a strategic move to accelerate financial innovation in digital assets. By working with Dunamu, we aim to help shape Korea's blockchain ecosystem and bring the country's digital asset industry closer to the global forefront." — Ham Young-joo, Chairman, Hana Financial Group
South Korean financial conglomerates deployed approximately $1.55 billion into domestic crypto exchange stakes in May 2026 alone. Samsung Securities, Samsung SDS, and Samsung Card jointly acquired a 4% stake in Dunamu — operator of Upbit, the country's dominant exchange — for 612.8 billion won ($446 million). Hana Bank separately purchased a 6.55% stake in Dunamu for 1.03 trillion won ($670 million). Korea Investment & Securities and OKX are set to sign a deal on May 29 for a combined 40% stake in Coinone, valued at an estimated 500-600 billion won ($363-435 million).
These transactions follow a nine-year ban on corporate crypto investment being lifted in early 2026, a pending Digital Asset Basic Act that would introduce stablecoin regulation, and Naver Financial's planned $10.3 billion all-stock acquisition of Dunamu. The result: Korea's banking, technology, and securities sectors are converging simultaneously on crypto exchange infrastructure at a pace not observed in any other jurisdiction.
Korean won pairs now account for 30% of global spot crypto volume, according to research firm Kaiko, ranking second only to the US dollar. The institutional capital flowing into exchange equity — not tokens, but the platforms themselves — signals that Korea's financial establishment views crypto infrastructure as a core financial utility rather than a speculative asset class.
The three deals announced or closing in May 2026 represent the largest single-month capital deployment into crypto exchange equity in South Korean history.
Samsung Group affiliates → Dunamu (4% stake, $446M)
Samsung Securities will take a 2% stake; Samsung SDS and Samsung Card will each acquire 1%. The three affiliates are purchasing 1.39 million shares from Kakao-affiliated entities in an all-cash transaction. Samsung Card stated it plans to collaborate with Dunamu to develop a digital asset payment ecosystem, including crypto-based payment services on Samsung Financial Group's Monimo platform, contingent on the introduction of won-based stablecoins. The transaction is scheduled to close June 19.
Hana Bank → Dunamu (6.55% stake, $670M)
Hana Financial Group agreed to acquire 2.28 million shares in Dunamu for approximately 1.03 trillion won, making it the company's fourth-largest shareholder. The deal, set to close June 15, represents the Korean banking sector's largest-ever single investment in a digital asset enterprise. Following the acquisition, Hana and Dunamu confirmed plans to collaborate on won-pegged stablecoins, blockchain remittances, tokenized securities, and asset management products.
Korea Investment & Securities + OKX → Coinone (40% stake, $363-435M)
Korea Investment & Securities and OKX plan to hold a signing ceremony on May 29 for a share purchase giving each company a 20% stake in Coinone. The total investment is estimated at 500-600 billion won. Most of the deal will be conducted through a new share issuance. For Korea Investment & Securities, the deal provides a base for tokenized securities issuance and prime brokerage. For OKX, it represents its first licensed presence in South Korea, a market it has been unable to serve directly.
Combined, these three transactions total approximately $1.48-1.55 billion in committed capital.
Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, sits at the center of this institutional convergence. The company reported consolidated operating revenue of 1.56 trillion won ($1.03 billion) in fiscal 2025, down 10% year-over-year, with net profit of 708.9 billion won ($468 million), down 27.9%. The decline reflected lower trading volumes compared to 2024's cycle peak.
Despite the revenue contraction, Dunamu's valuation has continued to rise. Naver Financial announced in November 2025 that it would acquire Dunamu in an all-stock deal valued at approximately $10.3 billion, with each Dunamu share exchangeable for approximately 2.54 Naver Financial shares. However, the extraordinary shareholders' meeting has been pushed back from May 22 to August 18, and the closing date extended from June to September, due to ongoing Fair Trade Commission review.
Current shareholder structure (post-May 2026 deals):
| Shareholder | Stake | Transaction Value | |---|---|---| | Song Chi-hyung (founder) | 25.51% | — | | Kim Hyoung-nyon (vice chair) | 13.10% | — | | Woori Technology | 7.20% | — | | Hana Bank | 6.55% | $670M | | Kakao (retained) | ~4.03% | — | | Samsung Group affiliates | 4.00% | $446M |
Upbit handles more than 80% of South Korean virtual asset trading volume, according to industry data. Bithumb accounts for approximately 25% of the remainder, with Coinone holding less than 5%.
Coinone's deal structure differs materially from the Dunamu transactions. Where Samsung and Hana purchased existing shares from departing Kakao entities, the OKX/Korea Investment deal is structured primarily as a new share issuance, injecting fresh capital directly into the exchange.
For OKX, the deal resolves a longstanding market access problem. South Korea's VASP registration requirements and real-name bank account mandates have effectively barred foreign exchanges from operating domestically. By acquiring a 20% stake in an already-licensed entity, OKX gains compliant access to a market where the Korean won drives 30% of global spot crypto volume.
Korea Investment & Securities, a major Korean brokerage, gains infrastructure for tokenized securities distribution — a strategic priority as Seoul prepares regulatory frameworks for digital securities. The brokerage plans to leverage Coinone's platform for corporate digital asset services and prime brokerage operations.
The sell-side of the Dunamu transactions is equally significant. Kakao Investment, Kakao Ventures, the Kakao Youth Entrepreneurship Fund, and the KIF-Kakao Woori Bank Technology Finance Investment Fund are fully exiting their Dunamu holdings through the block sales to Samsung and Hana.
Kakao originally invested 35.5 billion won in Dunamu after the exchange was founded in 2012, according to Asia Business Daily. The total proceeds from the exit — combining the Hana sale (1.03 trillion won) and Samsung sale (612.8 billion won) — amount to approximately 1.65 trillion won, representing an approximately 300-500x return on the original investment over 13 years.
Kakao stated in regulatory filings that the purpose of the disposal was "securing funding for future investments," with the AI business identified as the top priority. The exit represents one of the largest realized returns on a single venture investment in Korean corporate history.
The capital rotation is directionally notable: a technology conglomerate that backed crypto infrastructure in 2012 is now cashing out to fund AI, while banks and securities firms are entering the same crypto infrastructure position in 2026.
Three regulatory shifts created the conditions for this institutional convergence:
1. Corporate crypto investment ban lifted (January 2026)
South Korea ended a nine-year prohibition on corporate digital asset holdings. Under finalized guidelines, listed companies and professional investors may allocate up to 5% of annual equity capital into top-20 cryptocurrencies traded on the country's five major exchanges. Approximately 3,500 entities gained access under the new rules.
2. Digital Asset Basic Act (under legislative review)
The ruling Democratic Party's draft bill, under active discussion since April 2026, would replace the term "virtual assets" with "digital assets" and introduce a unified rulebook for issuance, trading, and consumer protection. The bill would require stablecoin issuers to maintain reserves exceeding 100% of circulating supply, held at banks or approved institutions and segregated from the issuer's balance sheet.
A central dispute remains unresolved: the Bank of Korea insists that only banks with 51% ownership should be authorized to issue won-pegged stablecoins, while the Financial Services Commission has warned this could restrict competition. This dispute has delayed finalization.
3. VASP registration requirements
South Korea's Act on the Protection of Virtual Asset Users, effective since July 2024, requires all VASPs to register with financial authorities, use real-name bank accounts, implement AML/KYC procedures, and store 90% or more of customer assets in cold wallets. Seven VASP entities are currently registered with the Financial Services Commission. These requirements create high barriers to entry — which is precisely why OKX is acquiring into Coinone rather than applying for its own license.
South Korea's crypto market is structurally distinct from other major jurisdictions:
The decline in retail holdings has not deterred institutional entry. The financial conglomerates acquiring exchange stakes are positioning for infrastructure revenue — trading fees, custody, stablecoin issuance, tokenized securities distribution — rather than directional exposure to token prices.
The May 2026 deal cluster in South Korea represents the most concentrated institutional entry into crypto exchange infrastructure observed in any single jurisdiction. The buyers are not hedge funds or crypto-native firms; they are Samsung Financial Group affiliates, Korea's fourth-largest bank, a top-tier securities firm, and the world's fourth-largest crypto exchange by volume.
The strategic logic is consistent across all three transactions: acquire regulated exchange infrastructure ahead of pending stablecoin legislation, corporate crypto access rules, and tokenized securities frameworks. Whether this proves prescient depends on three unresolved variables — the timeline for Digital Asset Basic Act passage, the outcome of the won-stablecoin issuer dispute between the Bank of Korea and FSC, and the Fair Trade Commission's ruling on the Naver-Dunamu merger.
What is not in dispute: $1.55 billion in committed capital from Korea's financial establishment constitutes a structural bet on crypto exchange infrastructure as permanent financial plumbing. The retail speculation era that made Dunamu profitable is being succeeded by an institutional infrastructure era that is reshaping its ownership.