Coinone Brings In Korea Investment & Securities, OKX as Strategic Investors to Pursue Global Finance Push

Korea Investment & Securities, OKX Become Coinone’s Joint Third-Largest Shareholders

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Coinone said it has brought in Korea Investment & Securities and global digital-asset exchange OKX as strategic investors as it seeks to become a blockchain-based global comprehensive financial company. It plans to use the institutions’ expertise to accelerate new businesses including security tokens, or STOs, and stablecoins.

Chief Executive Cha Myunghun told a press conference at the company’s headquarters on June 4 that Coinone needed an alliance combining the trust of traditional finance with innovation led by global markets at an inflection point for the industry. To secure both at once, it brought in Korea Investment & Securities and OKX as strategic investors.

Korea Investment & Securities and OKX each acquired a 20% stake in Coinone on May 29, making them joint third-largest shareholders. Cha retained a 30% stake, preserving management continuity, while forming a four-party alliance that also includes existing second-largest shareholder Com2uS Holdings.

Cha described the deal as a strategic investment rather than a financial one. Korea Investment & Securities will contribute the trust and compliance capabilities of traditional finance, while OKX will provide technology on a global infrastructure scale. Control of Coinone will remain with Cha as the largest shareholder. Although the ownership structure has changed, each party has a clearly defined role and the arrangement is designed to avoid overlap, he added.

Coinone said it will prioritize its STO and stablecoin businesses with the new investment. Over the medium term, it aims to introduce innovative digital-finance products such as STOs and stablecoins within legal boundaries. Its goal is to become a blockchain-based comprehensive financial company.

Com2uS Holdings, Coinone’s existing second-largest shareholder, also welcomed the shareholder reshuffle. Chief Executive Jung Cheol-ho said the addition of Korea Investment & Securities’ credibility and OKX’s global infrastructure had created a powerful partnership. The company expects to build a digital-finance value chain that combines global liquidity with regulated financial infrastructure and innovative technology on top of the rare value of a Korean won market.

Korea Investment & Securities said the stake purchase marks a full-fledged push into the digital-asset industry. Chief Executive Kim Sung-hwan said the investment is aimed at securing an early role in linking regulated finance with the crypto market. The brokerage decided on direct and indirect investments to establish a foothold in new digital-finance businesses, anticipating legislation related to security tokens and stablecoins will move faster than expected. The move is also meant to position the firm for shifts in global markets, including the US, where traditional assets are being digitized.

Kim said Coinone’s security record and regulatory-compliance capabilities were key reasons the brokerage chose it over a larger exchange. Coinone has not had a security incident since its founding, he said, adding that the firm’s blockchain infrastructure and compliance capabilities had been highly rated.

OKX, which joined as a global partner, will focus on technical support. Founder and Chairman Star Xu said South Korea is one of the most mature digital-asset markets in the Asia-Pacific region. OKX plans to provide Coinone with technology and operating know-how built up over 13 years.

Xu said OKX would share expertise to help Coinone build better products and services and better protect customer assets. That includes know-how in areas where OKX has strengths, including AI-based suspicious transaction detection systems, custody technology and trading-system stability. The core goal of the partnership is to build a trust framework that regulators can be comfortable with.