Korea's Institutional Crypto Buildout Risks Outpacing Demand

Within ten days of Hana Bank agreeing to buy a 6.55% stake in Dunamu – operator of Upbit, Korea's largest exchange – for roughly USD 720 million, three more financial institutions announced similar acquisitions. Hanwha Investment Securities approved an additional 3.90% stake. Samsung Securities, Samsung SDS, and Samsung Card jointly took a combined 4.0% stake. Mirae Asset Consulting signed in February to acquire 92.06% of Korbit. Korea Investment Securities and global exchange OKX are discussing a joint acquisition of Coinone.

Tiger Research counts 150 institutions and 196 partnerships across Korea's crypto landscape. The deal flow signals a structural shift: financial institutions now treat digital assets as core infrastructure worth competing over before regulations are final. The risk, however, is that infrastructure is being built ahead of the capital flows needed to sustain it.

Hana Bank's $720M Stake Triggers a Ten-Day Acquisition Wave

The Hana Bank announcement was the first concrete signal that institutional buyers were willing to commit real capital to exchange equity. Within days, Hanwha and Samsung moved to increase their exposure. The pattern suggests a first-mover race: banks and securities firms see exchange ownership as the fastest path to both VASP registration and a built-in user base.

Access to exchange liquidity and customer deposits is the prize. For securities firms like Hanwha Investment Securities, an equity stake in Dunamu provides indirect exposure to Upbit's spot and derivatives volumes without building a proprietary exchange from scratch. The Mirae Asset deal for 92.06% of Korbit goes further: it gives effective control over one of Korea's five major exchanges, including its VASP license and order-book infrastructure.

The table shows the concentration of deal-making around the top exchanges. Korea Investment Securities negotiating with OKX for a joint bid on Coinone adds a global exchange to the mix, potentially creating a hybrid domestic-international control structure.

Practical rule: In regulated digital asset markets, equity stakes in exchanges are not passive investments – they are licenses by proxy. Korean banks cannot directly operate a crypto exchange without a VASP registration; by owning a stake in a registered exchange, they gain indirect access to the regulatory framework.

Timeline of the Acquisition Wave

• February: Mirae Asset Consulting signs contract for 92.06% of Korbit.
• Ten days after Hana Bank announcement: Hanwha and Samsung groups move.
• Ongoing: Korea Investment Securities and OKX in discussions for Coinone.

The compressed timeline indicates that institutions are racing to secure positions before regulatory clarity arrives. The risk is that valuations reflect scarcity of VASP-registered exchanges rather than underlying business fundamentals.

Custody Firms Post Net Losses: Infrastructure Built Ahead of Demand

KODA, KDAC, BDACS, and BitGo Korea have each established domestic and international partnerships. Tiger Research reports that all major custodians posted net losses last year. The industry has built ahead of the institutional capital flows needed to sustain operations.

Key insight: The custody losses reveal a market that is building capacity for institutions that have not yet committed capital. Fixed costs for secure vault infrastructure, blockchain node maintenance, and compliance teams are high. Until the banks and securities firms that are buying exchange stakes begin moving their own balance sheet assets into custody, the revenue will not cover operating expenses.

BitGo Korea, as a subsidiary of the U.S.-based BitGo, faces additional pressure. Domestic custody firms that rely on overseas technology partners must pay licensing fees, which further compress margins. The losses suggest that the first mover in custody may not be the winner – profitability depends on when institutional deposits arrive, not on infrastructure quality.

What Would Reduce Custody Risk

• A custody firm reporting a quarterly profit, indicating that institutional assets have begun flowing.
• Hana Bank or Samsung launching a tokenized deposit or stablecoin product using domestic infrastructure.
• Regulatory clarity on stablecoin issuance that encourages banks to move assets into custody.

What Would Make It Worse

• Continued delays in stablecoin regulation, keeping institutional capital on the sidelines.
• BitGo Korea or other overseas-linked custodians losing a major client to a pure domestic solution.
• The Hangang CBDC project failing to attract private-sector usage, weakening the case for domestic infrastructure.

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