Key Takeaways
- Mirae Asset Group is negotiating a potential acquisition of crypto exchange Korbit for up to $100 million.
- The deal would provide the traditional finance giant with a prized, fully licensed on-ramp into South Korea’s crypto market.
- This move follows Naver Financial’s bid for market leader Upbit, highlighting a consolidation trend among Korea’s tech and finance titans.
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Traditional Finance Targets Regulated Crypto Gateway
In a strong bet in the direction of South Korea’s digital assets, Mirae Asset Group is performing advanced negotiations to purchase Korbit. Estimates on the value of the deal are around $70 million to $100 million.
Negotiations are being carried out by Mirae Asset Group along with the subsidiaries of current major shareholders (including Nexon and SK Planet) over Korbit. The potential acquisition of the crypto exchange indicates the strong interest of large, traditional finance organizations in both building and assessing regulatory licenses, as well as compliant infrastructure, before entering the crypto space, rather than only on the basis of market share.
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The Strategic Value of A License
Korbit has captured less than 1% of domestic trading volume compared to larger competitors like Upbit and Bithumb. However, Korbit’s primary asset is its regulatory standing as one of the first exchanges in South Korea, possessing an operating license and established banking relationships within a regulated framework.
For Mirae Asset Group, this will provide them with a fully vetted, low-risk means of expanding its digital asset services to its large customer base, allowing them to position themselves to serve the future institutional demand for digital assets. Therefore, while Korbit may be positioned lower in the overall trading volume rankings, it possesses a strategic value that significantly exceeds its current ranking status.
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A Market in Consolidation
Mirae Asset Group’s recent bid for Korbit is another example of the ongoing trend toward a consolidation of the bitcoin market. Just before this, Naver Financial made a large all-stock acquisition of Dunamu, which operates Upbit, the leading digital currency exchange in Korea.
The actions of these two major technology companies show that now the largest Korean tech and finance companies are not just passively watching what happens in the crypto-ecosystem, but are actively building out their own infrastructure to dominate the market and therefore will create a competitive environment for the more traditional players, who possess huge amounts of capital, to operate in the digital asset space.
FAQs
Why would Mirae Asset buy a small exchange like Korbit?
The value lies in Korbit’s regulatory license and compliant operational framework. Acquiring a licensed exchange is a faster, more secure entry into the market for a traditional firm than building one from scratch, bypassing a complex and uncertain approval process.
Who currently owns Korbit exchange?
Korbit is primarily owned by NXC (the holding company of gaming giant Nexon), which holds about 60.5%, and SK Planet, holding approximately 31.5%.
Is this deal confirmed?
Not yet. But the parties have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU), and due diligence is ongoing. The final terms, valuation, and completion of the acquisition are still subject to negotiation.
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