Hana Financial to Buy $726 Million Dunamu Stake, Become Fourth-Largest Shareholder

Hana Financial Group will become a major shareholder in Dunamu, the operator of South Korea's largest digital-asset exchange Upbit, by acquiring a stake worth about $726 million.

KBS reported on May 15 that Hana Financial decided at a Hana Bank board meeting the same day to buy a 6.55% stake in Dunamu, or 2.284 million shares, from Kakao Investment for about 1.0033 trillion won ($726 million).

The deal marks the largest single investment by a South Korean commercial bank in a digital-asset company.

Once the transaction is completed, Hana Financial will become Dunamu's fourth-largest shareholder, following Woori Technology Investment. Kakao Investment, currently the third-largest shareholder, will drop out of the ranks of major shareholders.

Dunamu's largest shareholder is Chairman Song Chi-hyung, who held a 25.51% stake at the end of last year. Vice Chairman Kim Hyeong-nyeon is the second-largest shareholder with 13.10%.

The tie-up between Upbit's infrastructure and Hana Financial's financial-services capabilities could create synergies in areas including won-denominated stablecoins and digital-asset-based financial services.

The transaction is also being interpreted as aligned with the stance of South Korea's financial authorities. Regulators are pushing to introduce a fitness review system that would assess factors including financial soundness during the registration process for virtual-asset service providers. They have also been considering ways to reduce the ownership share of specific controlling shareholders to strengthen the public nature of exchanges.

With a major financial company joining as a key shareholder, Dunamu gains a strategic basis to bolster management transparency and respond to regulation.

Upbit's real-name deposit and withdrawal account partnership will remain with K Bank. Hana Financial said the investment is a strategic move to build a future financial ecosystem, not to secure an account-partnership arrangement.

Hahm Young-joo, chairman of Hana Financial Group, called the stake purchase a strategic decision to accelerate financial innovation based on digital assets. He added that the group would focus its capabilities on helping Dunamu and South Korea's digital-asset industry advance to a globally leading level.