South Korea’s Mirae Asset Financial Group is moving deeper into crypto by acquiring a controlling stake in Korbit, one of the nation’s major digital asset platforms.
Through its consulting arm, the firm plans to buy 26.9 million shares for about 133.5 billion won ($92.27 million), giving it a 92.06 percent ownership and majority control of the exchange.
Per the official announcement, most of the shares are being purchased from existing investors, including NXC and subsidiaries of SK Group, while SK Planet separately confirmed selling part of its stake.
The deal is a big change in who owns Korbit and shows that traditional finance is becoming more interested in crypto. However, it still needs to be approved by regulators before it can be finalized.
Korbit acquisition marks Mirae Asset’s expansion policy
Mirae Asset Consulting said its acquisition of Korbit is aimed at “securing future growth momentum based on digital assets.”
Local media report that the move fits within the group’s broader “Mirae Asset 3.0” strategy, which seeks to weave crypto and digital assets into traditional financial services.
Korbit is South Korea’s fourth-largest exchange, handling around $95 million in trading volume over the past 24 hours, compared with $1.8 billion on market leader Upbit.
Mirae Asset is a huge financial company that manages more than 1,000 trillion won ($721 billion) in assets as of last September.
Traditional finance and crypto seek common ground in South Korea
The Korbit share acquisition reflects a broader trend of convergence between traditional finance and crypto platforms in South Korea.
Last November, for instance, Naver’s financial arm completed a stock-swap merger to take control of Dunamu, Upbit’s parent company.
According to Yonhap, the Korbit deal positions Mirae Asset Financial Group to take advantage of the emerging market for tokenized securities, recently legalized by the national legislature.
However, there may be difficulties in the future, as the government is planning to set tight limits on the ownership of major shareholders of crypto exchanges under the new Digital Asset Basic Act.
This may cause Mirae Asset to dispose of a large part of its recently acquired 92 percent stake in Korbit.