Written by: Zen, PANews
The South Korean cryptocurrency exchange is constantly evolving. By the end of 2025, it was revealed that South Korea's financial giant Mirae Asset Group is advancing its acquisition of a stake in Korbit, the country's fourth-largest cryptocurrency exchange. The news of traditional financial giants entering the cryptocurrency market has once again drawn attention to the South Korean market.
Currently, Mirae Asset Group is in contact with Korbit's largest shareholder NXC and its second-largest shareholder SK Planet, having signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). The agreement covers shares amounting to approximately the total holdings of both parties, with the transaction valuation expected to be between 100 billion to 140 billion Korean won (approximately 70 million to 100 million USD). Due to confidentiality agreements, Mirae Asset is unable to confirm specific details publicly.
"Korea's Buffett" Dabbles in Cryptocurrency
Mirae Asset Group is one of South Korea's leading comprehensive financial groups, with businesses covering asset management, securities investment banking, brokerage, insurance, and more, with "globalization" as its long-term strategic focus. According to the group, as of July 2025, its total assets under management have surpassed 700 billion USD.
The head of the group is Park Hyeon-joo, known as "Korea's Buffett." Since founding Mirae Asset Group in 1997, Park has long served as the core decision-maker of the group and currently holds the position of Global Strategy Officer, focusing on overseas business. According to The Korea Times, sources say that Park has consistently emphasized exploring business connections between traditional global assets and digital assets.
Park Hyeon-joo
Therefore, the move to acquire Korbit aligns with Park's vision for financial innovation based on digital assets. Currently, Mirae Asset's non-financial subsidiary, Mirae Asset Consulting, has signed acquisition memorandums with Korbit's two major shareholders—gaming giant Nexon's holding company NXC and SK Group's subsidiary SK Planet. NXC and its affiliates hold approximately 60.5% of the shares, while SK Planet holds about 31.5%.
The reason for completing the acquisition of Korbit through Mirae Asset Consulting is due to South Korea's established principle of "separation of finance and virtual assets" since 2017, which generally prohibits traditional financial institutions from directly operating, holding, or controlling virtual asset-related businesses. Thus, a non-financial subsidiary can bypass regulatory restrictions as the acquiring entity.
Mirae Asset has not officially responded to this matter, but insiders say that the direction of signing the memorandum of understanding has been largely confirmed. This move is also seen as an important signal of traditional financial institutions in South Korea actively expanding into digital asset businesses.
Shrinking Shares, Years of Losses, Korbit Seeks New Ownership
Mirae Asset Group's entry into the cryptocurrency industry and its significant acquisition of Korbit is widely viewed as a move that will have a major impact on the South Korean cryptocurrency market. Optimists even predict that the acquisition of Korbit could break the monopoly of the two major exchanges, Upbit and Bithumb.
Founded in 2013, Korbit is one of the earliest cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea to launch Bitcoin trading against the Korean won (BTC/KRW). In its early days, Korbit held a significant position in the Korean won blockchain trading market, but its influence has diminished as market competition intensified.
Today, while Korbit claims to be the fourth-largest cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, its position and market share in the country are far behind Upbit and Bithumb. As of the end of December 2025, Upbit and Bithumb's 24-hour trading volume market shares are approximately 67% and 27%, respectively, while the third-largest exchange, Coinone, holds about 5%, and Korbit has less than 1%, lagging far behind the industry leaders.
The Top Four Exchanges in South Korea
In terms of shareholder structure, South Korean gaming giant Nexon's holding parent company NXC acquired approximately 62% of Korbit for 93 billion won (about 70 million USD) in 2017. In 2021, SK Group's investment platform SK Square (or SK Planet) invested about 90 billion won in Korbit, acquiring approximately 35% of the shares and becoming the second-largest shareholder. Subsequently, NXC's shareholding was diluted to about 60.5%, while SK Square holds about 31.5%.
From a timing perspective, the two traditional giants' investments in future industries such as blockchain and the metaverse seem timely. However, Korbit's operational status has not been ideal; after being acquired by NXC, its performance gradually deteriorated, resulting in consecutive years of operating losses. In 2024, as the South Korean virtual currency market rebounded, Korbit finally turned a profit, with losses in 2024 significantly narrowing compared to 2023, along with non-recurring gains from investments in crypto assets, leading to a net profit of 9.8 billion won last year.
As a result, NXC and SK Square have long been seeking to exit and find a new owner for Korbit. In February 2024, media reports indicated that NXC planned to sell approximately 48% of its stake in Korbit. Since 2023, NXC and SK Square have contacted multiple potential buyers, but negotiations have repeatedly failed due to differences in price expectations and internal and external issues faced by potential buyers.
It is worth mentioning that in November 2025, reports emerged that Bybit began discussions regarding the acquisition of Korbit, but Korbit's officials immediately denied the rumor, stating, "There has been no notification or negotiation regarding the sale of shares."
Intense Competition and Tightening Regulations in South Korean Cryptocurrency Exchanges
Currently, the South Korean cryptocurrency market has formed a duopoly with Upbit dominating and Bithumb making a strong push. After establishing their territories, both giants are actively exploring ways to expand their business landscape while solidifying their competitive advantages.
Among them, Upbit, operated by Dunamu, has announced that it will be acquired by South Korea's tech giant Naver through its financial subsidiary Naver Financial in an all-stock transaction valued at 10.3 billion USD. According to the timeline released by both parties, the final share exchange is expected to be completed by June 30, 2026.
Additionally, according to Bloomberg, Upbit plans to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) targeting the Nasdaq market after the merger with Naver Financial is completed.
Bithumb is also well-prepared for its push to list on the KOSDAQ in 2026. In 2025, it is promoting a corporate spin-off and restructuring, separating its core exchange business from non-exchange businesses such as investment, holding, and new ventures, in order to present clearer business boundaries and risk isolation during the listing review. It is reported that its IPO lead underwriter is Samsung Securities, which is currently conducting due diligence and other preparations for the listing.
Therefore, under the backdrop of intensified market competition, Korbit, with its currently very low market share, faces significant challenges in breaking through.
On the other hand, regulatory pressures not only pose obstacles to business development but also increase the uncertainty of Mirae Asset's acquisition.
By the end of 2025, South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) reported that Korbit was fined 2.73 billion won (approximately 2.08 million USD) and received an institutional warning for violating the Specific Financial Information Act, along with warnings and disciplinary actions against the company's representatives and reporting responsibilities. The FIU's penalties are part of a general enforcement action against South Korean exchanges, primarily focusing on whether platforms fulfill customer identity verification and transaction restriction obligations. Previously, the agency also imposed a fine of approximately 35.2 billion won on Dunamu.
Furthermore, the South Korean Financial Services Commission has proposed in the Digital Asset Basic Law submitted to the National Assembly to limit the shareholding ratio of major shareholders in the four largest domestic virtual asset exchanges to between 15% and 20%, aiming to prevent a few founders and shareholders from controlling the operation of the exchanges. If the bill is passed, several exchanges will face structural adjustments and reorganizations, raising strong concerns within the industry about excessive government regulation.
Therefore, whether Mirae Asset and Korbit can ultimately reach an agreement remains uncertain. Despite its small share, Korbit, as a licensed exchange, possesses compliant infrastructure connected to bank accounts, making it attractive to traditional financial institutions for quick access to regulated virtual asset businesses. If the acquisition goes through, Mirae Asset, as a traditional financial giant, could provide support to Korbit that far exceeds that of existing shareholders and further promote the integration of traditional finance and cryptocurrency businesses.
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