In a strategic move to bolster their presence in the South Korean cryptocurrency landscape, OKX and Korea Investment & Securities (KIS) have both agreed to acquire a 20% stake in Coinone, one of the country’s leading crypto exchanges. This acquisition, valued at approximately $53 million, marks a significant step in the ongoing investment race among local brokerage firms aiming to establish themselves in the burgeoning digital asset market.
Coinone announced the partnership on Friday, revealing that the stakes would be acquired through a combination of newly issued shares and shares sold by the exchange’s two primary stakeholders, CEO Cha Myung-hoon and Com2uS Holdings. Following this transaction, Cha will retain the largest single share at 30.36%, with Com2uS Holdings holding 24.54%, while both OKX Ventures and KIS will become the third-largest stakeholders.
KIS’s investment is not just an equity acquisition; the firm aims to leverage this partnership to delve deeper into the digital assets sector. CEO Kim Sung-hwan emphasized that this investment represents a foundational step toward expanding beyond traditional finance into blockchain-based financial services, including tokenized securities and stablecoins.
Coinone has expressed optimism about the partnership with OKX Ventures, aiming to enhance its international market knowledge and improve investor protection, security, and risk management capabilities. Netero Dai, vice president of OKX Global Markets, highlighted that this joint venture underscores a commitment to developing a compliant and well-regulated financial infrastructure.
As the South Korean cryptocurrency market evolves, Coinone’s CEO pledged to maintain close cooperation with regulators concerning the shareholder changes. The company plans to hold a joint media briefing with KIS and OKX Ventures to discuss the implications of this partnership and explore potential areas for future collaboration.
Intensifying Competition in South Korea’s Crypto Investment Landscape
The investment from KIS and OKX comes amid a broader trend of local brokerage firms rushing to secure stakes in crypto exchanges. Financial authorities have noted an uptick in such investments as South Korean regulators work to create a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets. This movement was highlighted by the Financial Services Commission (FSC), which proposed capping major shareholders’ stakes in crypto exchanges at 15%-20%, aligning governance standards with the exchanges’ growing public responsibilities.
Recent months have seen several notable investments in South Korea’s crypto exchanges. In February, Mirae Asset Financial Group announced it had acquired a staggering 92% stake in Korbit for approximately $88.7 million. Similarly, Hanwha Investment & Securities increased its stake in Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, from 5.94% to 9.84%. Earlier this month, Hana Financial Group made headlines by agreeing to purchase a 6.55% stake in Dunamu for around $670 million, marking the largest investment by a South Korean bank in a digital asset company.
In a further demonstration of the growing interest in the sector, Samsung revealed plans for its affiliates to acquire a combined 4% stake in Dunamu for $408 million, aiming to leverage opportunities tied to digital assets.
