According to reports, Dunamu, the parent company of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, is seeking to go public in the United States after completing its merger with local tech giant Naver.
The Seoul Economic Daily reported on Monday that Dunamu aims to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq, which is home to many tech stocks, following the completion of the merger, expected later this week.
Local media outlet Chosun Ilbo reported on Monday that Dunamu and Naver plan to hold board meetings on Wednesday to approve the merger. If both boards approve, the CEOs of Dunamu and Naver will publicly outline their post-merger plans on Thursday.
Upbit is the most popular cryptocurrency trading platform in South Korea, with CoinGecko data showing that the platform's trading volume reached $2.1 billion in the past day, roughly equivalent to the nearly $2.2 billion trading volume of its U.S. competitor Bullish, which went public in August.
Dunamu's potential IPO would allow Wall Street to tap into the highly active cryptocurrency market outside the U.S., which often exhibits asymmetric volatility compared to other global crypto markets.
Local media reported in September that Naver's fintech division, Naver Financial, would acquire Dunamu through a share exchange, making it a subsidiary, pending board approval.
Naver is the country's top search engine, often referred to as "the Google of Korea." Similar to Google, Naver also operates email hosting services, blogs, maps, and mobile payment processors.
Naver also plans to launch a local currency stablecoin project, as South Korea is advancing regulations to allow for won-backed stablecoins, initially to be facilitated through banks.
Regulators must also approve the transaction and will review whether the merger of the country's top cryptocurrency exchange and payment provider would create a monopoly.
In a more favorable policy environment for the industry, several crypto companies have gone public in the U.S. this year.
Cryptocurrency exchanges Gemini, Bullish, and eToro went public earlier this year, although their stock prices have fallen alongside the crypto market.
Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group also conducted one of the most successful IPOs of the year in June, with a valuation of $18 billion on its first day of trading.
Related: Reports indicate that as the Thai market hits a five-year low, Bitkub exchange is considering an IPO in Hong Kong.
Original article: “South Korea's Upbit Parent Company Plans Nasdaq IPO After Merger with Naver”
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