TL;DR:
- Hana Financial will acquire a 6.55% stake in Dunamu, operator of the Upbit exchange, for $668 million, becoming its fourth-largest shareholder.
- The purchase involves the sale of over 2.2 million shares held by Kakao Investment, which will retain 1.4 million shares to fund future investments.
- Hana Financial signed several agreements over the past two months, including ones with Circle and Crypto.com.
The South Korean financial conglomerate Hana Financial announced the acquisition of a 6.55% stake in Dunamu, the operating company behind the cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, for over 1.003 trillion Korean won, equivalent to approximately $668 million. According to the filing, the transaction involves the purchase of more than 2.2 million shares held by investment firm Kakao Investment, which will position Hana Financial as Dunamu’s fourth-largest shareholder.
According to data published last September by South Korean outlet The Chosun Daily, Dunamu’s major shareholders include chairman Song Chi-hyung with 25.5%, vice chairman Kim Hyoung-nyon with 13.1%, and Kakao with 10.6%, a stake now reduced to 4.1% following the sale. In its filing, Hana Financial stated that the acquisition is a move to secure “competitiveness in new finance through strategic equity investment”. Kakao, for its part, indicated that the transaction allows it to obtain funds for future investments.
Traditional Banking Looks Toward Digital Assets
South Korea’s traditional financial institutions have begun actively moving into the crypto sector. In February, Mirae Asset Consulting acquired a majority stake in exchange Korbit. Meanwhile, exchange Coinone announced earlier this year that it was exploring the sale of its chairman’s shares, noting that local financial institutions and foreign exchanges were reportedly interested. Technology company Naver Financial also agreed last year to acquire Dunamu through a share swap.
Hana Financial: An Increasingly Active Player
In April, Hana Financial signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding with POSCO International and Dunamu to launch a blockchain-based remittance system. In March, it reached an agreement with British group Standard Chartered to collaborate on global financial and digital asset markets. It also signed agreements with Circle, the issuer of USDC, and with exchange Crypto.com to promote stablecoin-based payments targeting foreign visitors in South Korea.
