Upbit's real-name account partner bank, K-Bank, will continue for one more year

K-Bank announced on the 2nd that it has decided to extend its partnership with domestic No.1 virtual asset exchange Upbit for the real-name verified deposit and withdrawal account (real-name account) until October next year. Accordingly, the existing method of creating a K-Bank account to deposit and withdraw investment funds when investing in virtual assets through Upbit will continue for one more year. K-Bank and Upbit operator Dunamu are in the process of carrying out related procedures to extend the partnership.

K-Bank and Upbit have maintained the partnership for more than five years since they began the real-name account partnership in June 2020. Through the partnership, the two companies grew rapidly. K-Bank's asset size grew 15-fold from 2 trillion won at the end of Q2 2020 to about 30 trillion won at the end of Q2 this year. Upbit has solidified its position as the No.1 virtual asset exchange in Korea by trading volume.

In the virtual asset industry and the banking sector, there have been views that Dunamu, Upbit's operator, could change the real-name account partner bank from K-Bank to a commercial bank. Analysts said that if Upbit partners with a commercial bank larger than K-Bank, it could secure a broader customer base and find it easier to conduct business targeting corporations or institutions rather than individuals. However, with discussions on easing the 'one-exchange-one-bank' regulation suspended, it appears that extending the partnership and strengthening cooperation with the existing K-Bank, which is preferable to bearing consumer confusion from switching partner banks, led to the extension of the partnership.

The cooperation between K-Bank and Upbit is also expanding in the corporate market. As virtual asset trading spreads from individuals to corporations, the number of K-Bank corporate virtual asset accounts has more than doubled this year and exceeded 100 accounts as of the end of August.

K-Bank is supporting convenient account opening by building a dedicated page called 'Registration for Corporations Using Virtual Assets' on the corporate banking internet homepage to improve convenience for corporate customers.

The two companies are strengthening digital service cooperation beyond the real-name account partnership. On the K-Bank app, users can check Upbit-held asset status and real-time prices, and through the 'Collect virtual assets' feature, they can be directly linked to the Upbit app, making it convenient to invest in virtual assets.

Meanwhile, K-Bank is accelerating digital asset innovation. In July, it established a 'Digital Asset TF' and started developing a financial service model centered on stablecoins. It is also participating in building domestic and international digital financial infrastructure, such as testing a real-time remittance and payment model between Korea and Japan.

A K-Bank official said, "The partnership between K-Bank and Upbit has become a representative success case connecting finance and the virtual asset industry," and "We will continue to provide differentiated digital asset financial experiences through trust-based cooperation."

Reporter Jeong Ui-jin justjin@hankyung.com