Upbit's Next 10 Years...Dunamu's 'On-chain Finance' Gambit with Hana Financial's 1 Trillion Won Bet

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With Hana Financial's 1 trillion won investment, coupled with Naver and on-chain strategies, Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, is accelerating its transformation from a simple virtual asset exchange into a 'digital financial infrastructure company'. The market even sees this as "a signal for the integration of domestic finance, Web3, and big tech into a single axis."

Hana Financial Group announced on the 15th, through a Hana Bank board meeting, its decision to acquire 2,284,000 shares (6.55%) of Dunamu held by Kakao Investment for approximately 1 trillion and 3.3 billion won. As a result, Hana Bank will become the fourth-largest shareholder in Dunamu. The industry is noting this as the largest investment made by a domestic commercial bank in a digital asset company. In particular, the move beyond a real-name account partnership to direct equity investment suggests that the relationship between traditional financial institutions and the virtual asset industry has entered a new phase.

At the same time, Dunamu is accelerating its business structure transformation. Oh Kyeong-seok, CEO of Dunamu, recently announced plans to launch its own wallet and blockchain infrastructure within the year during a special lecture at Korea University's 'UP Class', stating, "Upbit will leap beyond an exchange to become an on-chain financial platform." The plan is to connect Upbit's 13 million users to the Web3 market and expand its business into stablecoin-based remittance, payment, and financial product tokenization markets. Dunamu is currently pursuing expansion into Vietnam, following Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand.

Market analysis also suggests that Dunamu is rapidly undertaking a structural overhaul to shed its image as an 'Upbit fee company'. In fact, approximately 98% of Dunamu's revenue comes from Upbit trading fees. In contrast, Coinbase in the U.S. has diversified its business portfolio with stablecoins, staking, and payment infrastructure, and is valued as a 'financial infrastructure company' rather than just an 'exchange'. The industry believes that with the expansion of the security token offering (STO), stablecoin, and digital asset custody markets, and the full-scale entry of securities firms and big tech into the digital asset market, Dunamu is also at a critical juncture to secure new growth drivers.

In particular, the scenario of a merger with Naver Financial is considered one of the biggest variables in the industry. The Fair Trade Commission is currently reviewing the business combination between Dunamu and Naver Financial, and the industry is paying attention to the possibility of a super-large digital financial platform emerging if the combination is successful, connecting Upbit's liquidity, Naver's AI/IT infrastructure, and Naver Financial's payment ecosystem. CEO Oh also emphasized, "If Dunamu's liquidity and Web3 capabilities are combined with Naver's AI infrastructure, technology can become an everyday reality."

However, challenges remain. Concerns are growing that Upbit's monopolistic structure could be shaken in the long term as the institutionalization of STOs and the entry of financial institutions into digital assets accelerate. Major securities firms such as Mirae Asset Securities, KB Securities, and NH Investment & Investment Securities are already accelerating their expansion into the digital asset and security token markets. Industry analysis suggests, "It's time for Dunamu to prove itself as a financial infrastructure platform before the era of turning on Upbit to buy coins ends."

*Disclaimer: This article is for investment reference only, and we are not responsible for any investment losses based on it. The content should be interpreted for informational purposes only.*