- Financial giant Mirae Asset Group is in negotiations to acquire Korbit for up to $100 million in a deal aimed at securing a fully licensed entry into the South Korean crypto market.
- The acquisition is being led by a non-financial affiliate to navigate strict domestic regulations that separate traditional banking from virtual asset businesses.
- This move follows a massive $10 billion merger between Naver Financial and Upbit’s operator as major traditional firms consolidate power ahead of expected institutional easing.
Global financial company Mirae Asset Group is looking to purchase Korbit, one of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.
The deal, according to the press release, is valued at about 100 billion to 140 billion won, The Chosun Daily reported Sunday. The range equates to roughly US$70 million to US$100 million (AU$153 million).
The group is pursuing the transaction through Mirae Asset Consulting, a non-financial affiliate, which has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Korbit’s major shareholders. Korbit’s largest owner is NXC, the holding company for gaming company Nexon, with about 60.5% of shares. SK Planet holds about 31.5% after investing 90 billion won in 2021.
Related: Analyst Says Forget the Four-Year Cycle, Crypto’s New Reality Is the Ten-Year Grind
Korea’s Strict Regulatory Approach
It’s important to note that South Korea’s Financial Services Commission has imposed strict licensing and banking requirements, so there are only a handful of fully licensed exchanges. Acquiring one is often more feasible than obtaining a new license.
Korbit is one of South Korea’s oldest crypto exchanges, launched in 2013, headquartered in Seoul, offering KRW on/off ramps and spot trading pairs for Koreans. But its market share has since shrunk to below 1% of domestic trading volume, according to CoinGecko.
The talks follow a separate consolidation move in the sector after Naver Financial confirmed last month it plans a stock-swap merger with Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, as traditional finance groups seek footholds in licensed crypto infrastructure ahead of expected easing of institutional participation limits.
Read more: Franklin Templeton’s XRP ETF Breaks 100M Tokens, Marking a Major Institutional Milestone
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