Samsung Affiliates Pay $408 Million for Upbit Operator Stake, Closing June 2026

Samsung Units to Acquire 4% Stake successful Upbit Operator Dunamu

Samsung Securities, Samsung SDS, and Samsung Card announced the woody connected May 28, 2026, according to the Korea Herald and respective different section outlets. The 3 units volition collectively acquisition astir 1.39 cardinal shares from Kakao-affiliated sellers, including Kakao Investment, Kakao Ventures, Kakao Youth Entrepreneurship Fund, and the KIF-Kakao Woori Bank Technology Finance Investment Fund.

The transaction is structured arsenic an all-cash artifact merchantability and is scheduled to adjacent connected June 19, 2026. Samsung Securities volition instrumentality a 2% stake, acquiring astir 697,487 shares for astir 306.3 cardinal won. Samsung SDS and Samsung Card volition each instrumentality a 1% stake. The per-share terms sits astatine astir 439,250 to 441,000 won, placing Dunamu’s implied valuation astatine astir 15.3 trillion won, oregon astir $11.1 billion.

The merchantability is portion of Kakao’s broader effort to trim its holdings successful Dunamu. Each of the 3 buyers has outlined chiseled goals for the partnership. Samsung Securities, the brokerage unit, plans to collaborate with Dunamu connected tokenized securities issuance, distribution, and virtual plus services.

Korea Herald newsman Choi Yeon-jae elaborate that Samsung SDS, the conglomerate’s accusation exertion and services division, plans to fuse its strengths successful AI, unreality computing, cybersecurity, and information absorption with Dunamu’s blockchain infrastructure to grow the integer concern bundle sector.

The study explains that Samsung Card, the company’s payments arm, has acceptable its sights connected crypto outgo networks, including the anticipation of integrating specified services into its Monimo level should won-denominated stablecoins summation traction nether South Korea’s evolving regulatory framework.

Choi Yeon-jae further cited a Samsung authoritative who stated that the concern is designed to sharpen the firm’s competitory lasting successful integer concern portion establishing a foothold successful a marketplace steadily gravitating toward blockchain-oriented fiscal products. Moreover, Dunamu told the Korea Herald that it welcomed the confederation arsenic an accidental to beforehand blockchain payments, organisation systems, and artificial quality (AI) ideas.

Upbit consistently captures betwixt 70% and 80% of South Korea’s home cryptocurrency trading volume, which places it among the apical exchanges globally by volume. As of today, Upbit recorded astir $1.21 cardinal successful 24-hour trading volume, placing it arsenic the world’s third-largest crypto speech by volume down Binance and Coinbase, respectively.

Dunamu founded the level successful October 2017 and launched it with an aboriginal concern with U.S.-based Bittrex. The institution was founded successful 2012 and has grown to see blockchain probe portion Lambda256, developer level Nodit, and further concern and services subsidiaries. In fiscal 2025, Dunamu posted nett net of 708.8 cardinal won connected gross of 1.56 trillion won.

The Samsung affiliates’ acquisition caps a engaged period for organization concern successful Dunamu. Earlier successful May 2026, Hana Bank, portion of Hana Financial Group, acquired a 6.55% stake for astir 1 trillion won, oregon $670 million. Hanwha Investment and Securities besides purchased a important stake, reported astatine astir 9.84%.

Together, these deals person shifted adjacent to 14% of Dunamu’s shares toward large Korean fiscal institutions and reduced Kakao’s power implicit the company.

TradFi and Digital Assets Continue to Converge successful South Korea

South Korea’s regulatory absorption is simply a cardinal operator down the activity. Policymakers are advancing frameworks that would let won-based stablecoins and grow the relation of tokenized assets successful home payments and finance. Traditional fiscal firms are moving aboriginal to physique positions up of those changes taking effect.

The involvement successful Dunamu reflects a broader signifier crossed Asia, wherever established banks, brokerages, and outgo companies are acquiring nonstop stakes successful regulated crypto exchanges alternatively than gathering competing infrastructure from scratch. For South Korea, the convergence of accepted concern (TradFi) and integer assets is moving faster than successful galore comparable markets, with licensed exchanges similar Upbit astatine the halfway of that shift.

Dunamu had been successful discussions with aggregate imaginable strategical partners successful the months prior. The Samsung affiliates’ entry, combined with the earlier moves by Hana Bank and Hanwha, signals that large Korean fiscal groups presumption ownership successful the country’s starring crypto speech arsenic a halfway presumption successful integer finance, not a speculative bet.

The transaction closing day of June 19 gives some sides astir 3 weeks to finalize the transfer.