Hana Bank, why did it bet $670 million on Upbit?

▲ Dunamu

Hana Bank has bet $670 million on Dunamu, the operator of Upbit. This is virtually the first time that one of Korea's four major commercial banks has directly acquired a large stake in a cryptocurrency exchange operator, leading to market evaluations calling it "the signal for the South Korean financial sector's transition to digital assets."

According to FX Leaders, an investment media outlet, on May 15 (local time), Hana Bank decided to acquire a 6.55% stake in Dunamu held by Kakao Investment for approximately $670 million. The transaction is scheduled to be completed on June 15, and with this investment, Hana Bank will become the fourth largest shareholder of Dunamu, following Dunamu Chairman Song Chi-hyung, Vice Chairman Kim Hyeong-nyeon, and Woori Technology Investment. The media outlet evaluated this transaction as the largest single cryptocurrency investment in the history of the Korean banking sector.

Dunamu operates Upbit, the largest digital asset exchange in South Korea. Last year, Dunamu recorded sales of 1.56 trillion won and net profit of 709 billion won, with total assets reaching 13.17 trillion won. Until now, domestic banks have limited their cooperation to providing real-name accounts for exchanges and focusing on anti-money laundering (AML), but the analysis suggests that directly acquiring stakes in exchanges and engaging in strategic collaboration, as in this case, is unusual.

Both sides plan to expand cooperation in blockchain-based financial services, stablecoins, overseas remittances, and digital asset management in the future. Ham Young-joo, Chairman of Hana Financial Group, explained this as a "strategic decision to accelerate digital asset-based financial innovation." The media outlet evaluated that the South Korean financial sector is moving beyond a mere observation stage and entering a phase of actual digital asset business expansion.

In particular, Hana Bank has already conducted a Proof of Concept (PoC) for a Korean won-pegged stablecoin based on XRP (Ripple) Ledger (XRPL). Through collaboration with XRPL Korea and Axelar, it has continued experiments on cross-border payments and institutional digital asset infrastructure. The analysis suggests that this investment in Dunamu significantly increases the possibility of connecting related businesses with the Upbit platform for full-scale expansion. Indeed, after the announcement, XRP trading volume on Upbit exceeded $330 million in 24 hours, surpassing Bitcoin's $217 million and Ethereum's $109 million.

The media also noted the possibility that this collaboration between Hana Bank and Dunamu could become a standard model for the financial sector in the future, especially given that Korean financial authorities are currently reviewing easing restrictions on corporate digital asset exposure. Furthermore, with the reported push for a merger between Naver Financial and Dunamu last year, there are predictions that a new digital financial ecosystem combining domestic internet platforms, banks, and cryptocurrency exchanges could be formed.

*Disclaimer: This article is for investment reference only, and we are not responsible for any investment losses based on it. The content should be interpreted for informational purposes only.*