The South Korean internet giant Naver, often compared to Google, has agreed to acquire Dunamu Inc., the operator of the country's leading crypto exchange Upbit, through a share transaction valued at around 10.3 billion US dollars.
With the transaction, the company aims to strengthen its position in the crypto market. According to the agreement disclosed in a regulatory filing, Naver’s fintech division will issue 2.54 new shares for each share of Dunamu. Upon completion of the transaction, Dunamu will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Naver Financial.
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South Korea: One of the most active crypto markets
South Korea remains one of the world’s most active trading hubs for cryptocurrencies - particularly in the retail segment. Upbit, regularly among the global top 5 digital asset exchanges, controls more than 80 percent of the domestic market. More than one-third of all Koreans - around 18 million people - already trade cryptocurrencies, with daily trading volumes at times exceeding equity transaction turnover.
Naver, often referred to as “South Korea’s Google,” has spent two decades fending off global competitors while establishing itself in payments, cloud, AI and content. Its platforms Webtoon and Webnovel also count millions of users abroad.
Upbit owners receive stake in Naver Financial
According to the internet giant, the transaction will help secure future growth initiatives based on digital assets. This is intended to transform Naver Financial from a payment provider into a money issuer and accelerate plans for a won-based stablecoin. Naver stated in a separate announcement that its stake in Naver Financial would decrease from the current 70% to 17% after the share swap. The swap ratio was based on multiple independent equity assessments of the two privately held companies.
Naver Financial and Dunamu were valued at 4.9 trillion won (3.3 billion USD) and 15.1 trillion won (10.3 billion USD), respectively. Dunamu Chairman Song Chi-hyung will hold the largest stake in Naver Financial, but both he and the vice chairman will transfer their voting rights. This gives Naver 46.5% of the voting rights and allows it to retain control of its financial arm.
Dunamu’s consolidated operating revenue rose 22% year-over-year in the first nine months through September 30 to 1.19 trillion won (814 billion USD). This increase is almost entirely attributable to trading fees. The platforms Upbit, Upbit NFT and the Securities Plus app generated 97.9% of total revenue, underscoring Dunamu’s strong reliance on transaction-based income.
