CoinDesk
Hana Bank, a subsidiary of Hana Financial Group with roughly $42 billion in assets under management, agreed to buy a 6.55% stake in Dunamu — operator of South Korea's largest crypto exchange Upbit — for approximately 1 trillion won ($670 million). The bank will acquire 2.28 million shares from Kakao Investment at a board-approved price from May 14, with the transaction scheduled to close June 15 and leaving Hana as Dunamu's fourth-largest shareholder. Upbit currently ranks 14th worldwide on CoinGecko with over $1 billion in daily trading volume, while Dunamu booked 708.8 billion won in net profit on 1.56 trillion won of revenue in fiscal 2025 and handles more than 80% of South Korean virtual asset trading volume.
Why it matters
The investment lands one month after South Korea's ruling Democratic Party proposed a Digital Asset Basic Act to establish a legal framework covering issuance, trading, custody and supervision, and follows new exchange-security rules from the Financial Services Commission and Financial Supervisory Service. Hana and Dunamu have already mapped out the joint pipeline: a won-pegged stablecoin, blockchain-based remittances, tokenized securities and digital asset management — a four-product stack that mirrors what competitor Woori Bank began building with MoonPay in April 2026. The deal also precedes Dunamu's planned $10 billion merger with Naver Financial announced in November 2025, giving Hana a seat at the table before the combined entity closes.
Market impact
For South Korean markets, the stake is the clearest signal yet that Tier-1 domestic banks are moving from observation to equity ownership of the country's dominant trading venue rather than building parallel infrastructure from scratch. The joint won-pegged stablecoin work in particular sets up a direct response to the KRW liquidity gap that has long pushed Korean retail into USDT, and it forces a competitive read across the regional banking sector as Woori, KB and Shinhan calibrate their own tokenization roadmaps.
Frequently asked questions
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How much is Hana Bank paying for its stake in Dunamu?
Hana Bank agreed to buy a 6.55% stake in Dunamu — operator of Upbit — for approximately 1 trillion won, or about $670 million, in a deal unanimously approved by Hana's board on May 14 and scheduled to close June 15.
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What products will Hana Bank and Dunamu build together?
The two confirmed plans to jointly develop a won-pegged stablecoin, blockchain-based remittances, tokenized securities and digital asset management — a four-product stack that mirrors what competitor Woori Bank began building with MoonPay in April 2026.
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Why is the Hana-Dunamu deal significant for South Korean crypto regulation?
The investment lands one month after South Korea's ruling Democratic Party proposed a Digital Asset Basic Act covering issuance, trading, custody and supervision, and follows new exchange-security rules from the Financial Services Commission and Financial Supervisory Service — positioning Tier-1 bank capital behind…
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How dominant is Upbit in South Korean crypto trading?
Upbit ranks 14th worldwide on CoinGecko with over $1 billion in daily trading volume, and Dunamu handles more than 80% of South Korean virtual asset trading volume, booking 708.8 billion won in net profit on 1.56 trillion won of revenue in fiscal 2025.
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How does the Hana stake relate to Dunamu's merger with Naver Financial?
The deal precedes Dunamu's planned $10 billion merger with Naver Financial announced in November 2025, giving Hana Bank a seat as Dunamu's fourth-largest shareholder before the combined entity closes and embedding bank capital into the post-merger group.
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