Hana Bank to acquire $670 million stake in Upbit operator Dunamu

Hana Bank, a subsidiary of Hana Financial Group, agreed to buy 6.55% of Dunamu, the operator of South Korea’s largest crypto exchange, Upbit, for about 1 trillion won ($670 million).

The bank, which has roughly $42 billion in assets under management, will buy 2.28 million shares from Kakao Investment, according to regulatory filings released Friday and cited by Maeil Business and the Korea Herald.

The transaction, unanimously approved by Hana’s board on May 14, is scheduled for completion on June 15. The deal positions Hana Bank as Dunamu’s fourth-largest shareholder, following only the company’s founders and Kakao Investment’s remaining holdings.

Hana Bank’s move into crypto comes one month after South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party proposed a “Digital Asset Basic Act” to establish a legal framework that covers issuance, trading, custody and supervision. It also follows the country’s Financial Services Commission and Financial Supervisory Service announcement of new rules aimed at enhancing security at crypto exchanges.

The investment precedes Dunamu’s planned merger with Naver Financial in a deal valued at $10 billion announced in November 2025. Upbit currently ranks 14th worldwide on Coingecko with over $1 billion in daily trading volume.

Following the acquisition, Hana and Dunamu confirmed plans to collaborate on several digital asset initiatives, including won-pegged stablecoins, blockchain remittances, tokenized securities and asset management.

In April 2026, competitor Woori Bank announced a partnership with MoonPay to develop similar stablecoin technology.

Dunamu booked a net profit of 708.8 billion won on revenue of 1.56 trillion won in fiscal 2025. The company handles more than 80% of South Korean virtual asset trading volume.