On January 26, 2026, it was revealed that the major shareholder of South Korea's third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, Coinone, plans to sell its stake, drawing market attention. This platform, jointly controlled by The One Group and gaming company Com2uS, is advancing a restructuring plan centered on equity transfer and introducing new partners, while communicating with overseas trading platforms and South Korean financial institutions about potential cooperation frameworks. On one hand, South Korea is regarded as one of the most active cryptocurrency trading markets globally, with trading enthusiasm and retail participation consistently ranking high; on the other hand, Coinone has faced years of losses and a compressed valuation, creating a stark contrast. This equity restructuring represents not only a survival choice for a marginalized third-tier exchange but also harbors industry-level suspense that could trigger a new round of reshuffling among South Korean exchanges.
From Star Trio to Marginal Player: A Collapse of Identity
● Historical Position Review: Coinone was once ranked alongside Upbit and Bithumb as one of South Korea's "three major exchanges." In the early days of compliance implementation, product variety, and local fiat channel development, it led the way. Leveraging its first-mover advantage and local team background, it maintained its position as South Korea's third-largest exchange, playing a crucial role in connecting retail funds with emerging crypto assets.
● Losses and Personnel Turmoil: In recent years, Coinone has continued to incur losses under high competition, high compliance costs, and pressure for technological investment, lacking a clear profit model to support it. Frequent changes and adjustments in management have also occurred. The instability at the top has weakened execution and long-term strategic determination, making it difficult for the platform to sustain investment in key areas such as product innovation, risk control systems, and brand building, gradually eroding its competitiveness.
● Loss of Market Share and Mindshare: In stark contrast, the leading platform Upbit has continuously strengthened its moat in liquidity depth, fiat deposit channels, mobile experience, and listing resources, further concentrating market trading volume. Coinone's relatively limited selection of trading pairs and liquidity makes it challenging to compete with the leaders in price discovery and matching efficiency, causing its user mindshare to be gradually pushed out of the mainstream choice list, with many users relegated to being "second accounts" or backup channels.
● Downward Valuation Signals: More symbolically, according to multiple sources, Coinone's current book value has fallen below Com2uS's original acquisition cost, indicating that this asset, once seen as a significant entry point for a gaming company into the crypto space, is now heavily discounted in its financial statements. This "falling below cost" point is not just a numerical change but a reflection of its transition from a star asset to a marginal chip.
Major Shareholder Sells 53%: A Gamble on Voice and Loss Prevention
● Power Landscape: Currently, Coinone's equity is highly concentrated in the hands of two main entities—major shareholder Cha Myung-hoon controls approximately 53.44% of the shares through The One Group, while gaming company Com2uS holds about 38.42%. This means that a single major shareholder has absolute control, and the two combined are close to fully locking in the company's direction, leaving minority shareholders with very limited voice in corporate governance, making it impossible to bypass this core shareholder duo for any significant decisions.
● Sale Motivation and Impact: Against the backdrop of ongoing losses and shrinking valuations, the major shareholder's plan to sell part of its stake is interpreted as a lack of confidence in the long-term investment outlook, hoping to lock in some profits or stop losses before financial pressures become irreversible. On the other hand, this could directly shake the existing governance structure, meaning that once new capital enters, it may demand a reshaping of the board composition, strategic priorities, and risk control framework, substantially rewriting Coinone's future path.
● Implications of Book Value Discount: Coinone's book value is now below Com2uS's acquisition cost. For this gaming company, the initial hope of gaining synergy and growth premium through its foray into the crypto trading business now faces asset impairment pressure on the financial dimension. This not only affects its financial performance and shareholder expectations but also forces it to make a difficult trade-off between "increasing holdings to lower costs" and "accepting discounts and exiting at a loss."
● Internal Power Struggles: Among the major shareholder, industry investors, and potential new capital, the game around Coinone's future path has begun to surface. Some prefer to "cut losses in time" by selling control, while others advocate for increasing holdings during this undervalued period, waiting for the industry cycle to rebound. There are also voices supporting the introduction of strategic funds from overseas platforms or local financial control institutions, using "changing shareholders" to gain new resources and licensing synergies. Behind different paths lies a starkly different judgment on future regulatory environments, industry concentration, and their own risk preferences.
Overseas Platforms and Korean Financial Control: Who Will Catch This Hot Potato?
● Information Boundaries and Public Stance: According to public information, the major shareholder has communicated with several overseas platforms and South Korean financial institutions regarding cooperation or equity introduction, but specific negotiation targets, rounds, and details have not been disclosed. The only confirmation from the outside is that "contact exists." In the absence of formal announcements, all more specific rumors about potential buyers remain at the market speculation stage and have not been substantively verified.
● Strategic Calculations of Overseas Exchanges: For international trading platforms, South Korea is a mature market with considerable size, extremely active retail participation, and a gradually clearer regulatory framework. Directly acquiring equity in a local licensed exchange is equivalent to buying a local compliance entry. By taking over or controlling Coinone, overseas institutions can quickly gain licenses, banking channels, and an existing user base, bypassing the lengthy individual application process and starting at a higher point in competition with local giants.
● The Contradictory Psychology of Korean Financial Capital: Meanwhile, South Korean financial institutions' attitudes toward the crypto industry have gradually shifted from complete observation to limited openness in recent years. They see potential in fee income, asset custody, and new business lines, but also face realistic concerns—reputational risks from price volatility, compliance review pressures, and impacts on traditional risk control systems. Whether to directly hold equity in an exchange poses a balancing dilemma between "embracing growth" and "maintaining stability."
● Signals of Uncertainty: It is important to emphasize that although market opinions have repeatedly linked international giants like Coinbase with interest in the South Korean market, there is currently no direct evidence showing that they have participated in negotiations related to Coinone. Any specific buyer names or transaction details should be regarded as unverified information until publicly disclosed, and investors and users must maintain sufficient caution and skepticism in their interpretations.
The Dark Side of South Korea's Retail Paradise: Survival Dilemmas for Small and Medium Exchanges Amid High Activity
● Trading Enthusiasm and User Profile: South Korea has long been regarded as one of the most active cryptocurrency trading markets globally, with a high proportion of retail participation and a strong short-term trading atmosphere. Prices often exhibit a premium on local platforms, reflecting the robust sentiment of local funds. Many individual investors are accustomed to frequently placing orders after work, attempting to profit from high volatility, creating a market structure characterized as a "retail paradise."
● Head Monopoly and Regulatory Pressure: However, this high activity has not evenly benefited all exchanges. As regulations tighten and local licensing thresholds rise, resources and trust have accelerated their concentration toward a few leading platforms, marginalizing small and medium platforms in terms of user numbers and trading volume. Continuous upgrades in regulatory compliance requirements, along with stricter standards for anti-money laundering checks and customer asset segregation, compounded by tightening approvals for new business, have placed exchanges in the middle and lower tiers under dual pressure.
● Inherent Disadvantages of Cost Curve: For third-tier exchanges like Coinone, maintaining a "safety boundary" in aspects such as coin selection, technical security, anti-money laundering systems, and customer service compliance requires sustained high-intensity capital investment. However, its shrinking fee income and market share struggle to cover this ever-increasing cost curve. In the absence of economies of scale, every compliance and risk control expenditure appears particularly "expensive."
● Case Studies and Microcosms in a Red Ocean: Placing Coinone's operational difficulties back into the broader competitive landscape of South Korean exchanges reveals that it is both a case study and a microcosm of the times. In the red ocean of pressure from giants like Upbit, regulatory scrutiny, and rapidly evolving user preferences, platforms that have failed to upgrade their technology, branding, and governance structures are forced to choose between "being acquired, being integrated, or gradually being marginalized." The sale of Coinone's equity is merely one of the most representative rounds in this long-term reshuffling.
The Fuse of Restructuring: The Chain Reactions That a Share Transfer May Trigger
● The Meaning of Restructuring as a Fuse: Industry analysts have pointed out that "Coinone's equity restructuring may trigger a reshuffling of the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange landscape." This is not merely rhetorical; it indicates that when control of a once top-three local platform changes, the resource, license, and user asset migration paths behind it could potentially shift the entire industry's power landscape, opening the floodgates for more mergers, collaborations, and exits.
● Divergence Between Overseas Control and Local Takeover: If control is ultimately achieved by an overseas platform, Coinone is likely to see significant improvements in technology, security, and global liquidity, but it may also face local user sentiment fluctuations regarding "foreign control" and more stringent regulatory scrutiny of cross-border capital flows. Conversely, if a Korean financial institution takes over, the platform may gain points in compliance endorsement and linkage with traditional financial products, but it could also be "pulled back to the traditional financial rhythm" in terms of innovation pace and risk appetite.
● Changes in User Experience and Fee Structure: Regardless of the new shareholder's origin, users will most directly perceive changes in asset security, coin listing pace, and fee structure. A stronger shareholder background is expected to enhance asset custody capabilities and information disclosure standards, increasing security; different shareholder preferences will influence which assets the platform chooses to list, whether leaning towards mainstream blue chips or daring to bet on high-risk new coins; and to capture market share, the new owner may not rule out engaging in a fee discount war to seize trading volume, triggering a new round of price wars.
● Differentiated Regulatory Responses: From a regulatory perspective, if the new shareholder is an overseas institution, cross-border compliance cooperation, data localization, and anti-money laundering information sharing will become key focuses; if led by a local financial group, authorities are more likely to incorporate it into the traditional financial regulatory framework, emphasizing capital adequacy, internal controls, and consumer protection indicators. Different types of shareholders may correspond to entirely different regulatory roadmaps, further shaping the future ecological boundaries of South Korean cryptocurrency trading.
The Eye of the Storm for Third-Tier Exchanges: Time is Running Out for Coinone
● The Trajectory of Marginalization to Capital Revaluation: Looking back at Coinone's trajectory over the past few years, it can be seen that from the early "third pole" to its current valuation falling below acquisition costs, it has gradually been marginalized under multiple pressures of users, technology, and compliance, until it is revalued through equity restructuring. This current moment is both a result of the passive liquidation of the old business model and a window for new shareholders and narratives to emerge, leaving increasingly limited decision-making space for internal management and existing shareholders.
● Multiple Scenarios for Potential Buyers and Transaction Dynamics: In the coming months, the identity of potential buyers, pricing conditions, and governance participation levels will determine the direction of this transaction. The major shareholder may struggle between price, control retention, and future capital increase obligations, while potential buyers will repeatedly negotiate around valuation discounts, license stability, and regulatory expectations. The transaction timeline may also be "extended" multiple times amid regulatory reviews, internal approvals, and market sentiment, presenting a phase of stalemate and sudden acceleration.
● Risk Coordinates for Investor Response: For ordinary investors and platform users, during this reshuffling phase, it is crucial to focus on three types of risks—first, compliance risks, being wary of license uncertainties and tightening regulations due to equity changes; second, liquidity risks, paying attention to early signals such as sudden drops in trading volume and withdrawal restrictions; and third, counterparty risks, including the new shareholder's background, asset custody arrangements, and the progress of risk control system upgrades, to avoid becoming the last "payers" in a structural upheaval.
● The Main Line of Strengthening the Strong and Mergers and Acquisitions: From a broader perspective, Coinone is just a part of the South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges entering the "strengthening the strong + mergers and acquisitions" phase. In the future, trading volume and compliance capabilities will further concentrate among a few giants, while small and medium platforms will either attach themselves to larger ecosystems as sub-brands or gradually exit the stage in a high-cost, high-threshold environment. The equity transaction surrounding Coinone may just be the beginning of the next wave of centralization in the South Korean crypto industry, rather than the end.
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