Seoul, April 6, 2026 — Mirae Asset Securities and Korea Investment and Securities (KIS) are both moving to acquire major ownership positions in South Korean crypto exchanges, signaling a broader push by traditional financial institutions to control the exchange infrastructure underpinning the country's retail-heavy crypto market. Mirae completed its acquisition of a 92.06% stake in Korbit in February, while KIS is in early talks to take a stake in Coinone. The moves come as a sweeping national crypto law remains stalled in the National Assembly, leaving a regulatory window that both firms appear eager to use.

Mirae paid roughly 133.5 billion Korean won (approximately $93 million) for its Korbit stake, purchasing shares from SK Square, SK Planet, and NXC, the parent company of gaming giant Nexon. The deal was structured through Mirae Asset Consulting, a non-financial affiliate, to sidestep Korean rules that currently bar regulated financial firms from directly owning virtual asset operators. Korbit ranks fourth among South Korean exchanges by market share. KIS, which reported net profit exceeding 2 trillion won (about $1.3 billion) in 2025, is in preliminary discussions about Coinone, the country's third-largest exchange. Coinone's appeal has grown alongside its market share, which surged from approximately 6.5% to roughly 13% in the months before KIS's interest was reported. Coinone said it is "reviewing collaboration with various business operators" but that no specific transaction had been decided.

The results for Korbit have been immediate and measurable. Before the Mirae deal closed, Korbit held just 0.61% of the domestic trading market as of November 2025. By early 2026 that figure had climbed to roughly 4.95%. A zero-fee USDC trading promotion launched after the acquisition drove the exchange to capture between 89% and 98% of all domestic USDC trading volume during the week of February 8 to 14. Upbit, the market leader with roughly 58% to 72% of Korean trading volume, saw its share dip from 64.99% to 61.42% in the same period. Bithumb fell from 31.64% to 27.2%. Mirae Asset Consulting described the Korbit acquisition as a move to "secure future growth momentum based on digital assets," framing it as part of a broader strategic reset it calls "Mirae Asset 3.0."

The legal backdrop matters here. South Korea's Digital Asset Basic Act, intended to create a comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto, has been delayed from late 2025 into 2026 and faces a genuinely uncertain path through the National Assembly. One of its most contested provisions would cap major shareholders of crypto exchanges at 20%, with the Financial Services Commission holding discretion to approve stakes up to 34%. Every major Korean exchange currently sits well above that limit. Bithumb Holdings controls about 73.56% of Bithumb; Coinone's CEO Cha Myung-hoon holds roughly 53.44%.

The Financial Services Commission has argued that the cap is necessary because "a small number of founders and shareholders exercise excessive control" over exchanges. The industry group Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA) has pushed back, saying such limits "could infringe on property rights and freedom of business activity while weakening the sector's competitiveness." Beyond the ownership cap, a separate dispute over which body should regulate KRW-pegged stablecoin issuers, with the Bank of Korea and the Financial Services Commission both staking claims, has emerged as an equally contentious sticking point blocking the bill's passage.

Critically, the draft law includes a six-year compliance window for smaller exchanges, including Korbit, Coinone, and Gopax, compared to three years for Upbit and Bithumb. That extended runway is one reason securities firms find the smaller platforms more attractive right now. They can acquire controlling stakes, build out integrated digital asset businesses, and retain operational control for six years before any forced restructuring becomes necessary.

A separate tokenized securities framework, covering amendments to Korea's Capital Markets Act and Electronic Securities Act, was passed by the National Assembly but will not take effect until 2027. That gap is pushing securities firms toward spot exchange acquisitions rather than waiting for the security token market to open. One unnamed industry official told the Seoul Economic Daily that year-end passage of the Digital Asset Basic Act "looks uncertain," citing the ongoing Middle East conflict's drag on financial market attention and a packed political calendar ahead of June local elections.

The pattern extends beyond Korea. Japan's three largest securities firms, Nomura Holdings, Daiwa Securities Group, and SMBC Nikko Securities, with a combined market cap of roughly $48 billion, are all evaluating crypto exchange operations. SBI Holdings and Monex Group have already completed similar acquisitions in Japan, rebranding their exchanges as part of broader integration with their traditional financial services businesses.

Adding to the Korean consolidation picture, Naver Financial, the financial arm of Korean tech giant Naver, has seen its planned merger with Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, delayed from June 30 to September 30, 2026, pending both antitrust review and regulatory uncertainty surrounding the pending Digital Asset Basic Act. That deal carries a reported valuation of around $14.5 billion.

For markets outside Northeast Asia, the Korean playbook carries practical implications. The structural workaround Mirae used, routing the acquisition through a non-financial affiliate, is replicable in any jurisdiction that separates regulated finance from crypto licensing. Regulators in India, Nigeria, and South Africa, where similar firewalls exist or are being debated, are likely watching. Korea's experience with its stalled tokenized securities framework also offers a cautionary signal for India and Nigeria, both of which are actively debating how to treat tokenized real-world assets. Korea's crypto user base is overwhelmingly retail: 82% of wallet holders are individual users, 66% hold less than roughly $365 worth of crypto, and an estimated 27% of Korean adults own some form of digital asset. As institutional capital absorbs the exchange layer, questions about fee competition, access, and consumer protections in retail-dominated markets become pressing far beyond Seoul.