South Korea’s Hana Financial Group announced Friday its acquisition of a 6.55% stake in Dunamu Inc., operator of the country’s dominant crypto exchange Upbit, for 1 trillion won ($669 million). This transaction, disclosed in a regulatory filing by its flagship Hana Bank, represents the largest bank investment ever made into a virtual asset operator in South Korea. Hana Bank is acquiring the stake from Kakao Investment, establishing Hana Financial as Dunamu’s fourth-largest shareholder.
Dunamu’s Upbit exchange currently handles over 80% of South Korea’s crypto trading volume and ranks as the world’s fourth-largest crypto exchange globally by trading volume. Hana’s acquisition is not an isolated event; it marks the third significant institutional investment in Dunamu within the past six months. For example, in November 2025, Korean IT giant Naver Corp. and Dunamu Inc. announced plans to jointly invest approximately $6.8 billion over five years to develop AI and Web3 infrastructure, with an aim to become a global leader in the digital finance market.
Analysts tracking the deal anticipate the Hana-Dunamu partnership will expand into stablecoin issuance and other future financial services. This investment by the banking giant also signifies a strategic pivot from traditional operational banking partnerships towards direct ownership exposure within the crypto industry.
South Korea boasts one of the world’s largest retail crypto markets, with Upbit and Bithumb ranking among global leaders for Korean won trading pairs. The country also maintains a rigorously regulated crypto framework, mandating licensed exchanges, real-name banking accounts, and strict compliance under financial regulators. Hana Financial Group’s direct equity investment in a leading crypto exchange operator like Dunamu is a notable departure from previous banking practices in South Korea. Historically, Korean banks have primarily confined their involvement to providing fiat on- and off-ramps through real-name accounts and supporting regulatory compliance systems, such as AML and KYC, rather than acquiring ownership stakes in crypto firms.
Hana’s $669 million equity stake in Dunamu indicates that South Korea’s traditional banking sector is extending its reach beyond custody and payment services to gain direct exposure to core crypto market infrastructure. This strategic shift has the potential to accelerate stablecoin development, deepen regulatory alignment, and establish a precedent for future bank-exchange consolidation in other significant global markets.
Source link
