A Platform Always in the Red Achieves 4.1 Billion Won Operating Profit in Just One Quarter? Did Busan Digital Asset Exchange's Magic Work?

▲ [Photo] CEO Kim Sang-min

The industry's attention is focused on an exchange that has rapidly grown its operating profit by more than 100 times in just over a year since acquiring a platform that was struggling with chronic deficits, establishing itself as an emerging powerhouse in the Real World Asset (RWA) market.

According to the Busan Digital Asset Exchange on the 21st, Bdan, a real asset trading platform operated by its wholly-owned subsidiary Bdan Gold, recorded an operating profit of approximately KRW 4.18 billion in the first quarter of 2026. This represents an astonishing growth rate of 11,680% compared to the same period last year, achieving a quantum leap that far surpasses the entire operating profit of approximately KRW 2.82 billion for 2025 in just one quarter. During the same period, transaction volume increased by 292% to KRW 363.3 billion, and revenue surged by 1,437% to KRW 5.26 billion.

This dramatic turnaround is attributed to the success of management efficiency improvements. The Busan Digital Asset Exchange acquired a platform that incurred a deficit of KRW 4.89 billion in 2024 last September. In just three months after the acquisition, it achieved a massive turnaround to profitability solely through business structure improvements and strengthened brand communication, without artificial personnel restructuring. The ecosystem, which was mired in deficits, has been transformed into a robust profit-generating structure, successfully entering a full-fledged structural growth trajectory.

Behind this aggressive move lies a surge in demand for digital Real World Assets (RWA) due to increasing global macroeconomic uncertainty. With safe-haven asset preferences peaking, as global investment bank UBS projects gold prices to soar up to $6,200 per ounce by the end of this year, investors' thirst for efficient and transparent digital real asset transactions has largely gravitated towards the Bdan platform.

Currently, Bdan supports the trading of seven types of raw materials, including gold, silver, platinum, palladium, copper, nickel, and tin. It plans to significantly expand its Real World Asset (RWA) product lineup to include items like coffee beans, Pu-erh tea, and whiskey, thereby diversifying its revenue structure. Additionally, it aims to further solidify its popular customer base through its subscription service "Chagokchagok," which is nearing 60,000 accounts, its proprietary character intellectual property (IP) business, and the introduction of a post-payment system.

Kim Sang-min, CEO of Busan Digital Asset Exchange, stated his ambition to solidify the platform's position as a leading platform that combines both safety and growth potential by continuously expanding its stable digital product lineup, emphasizing that the digitalization of real assets is deeply embedded in daily life as a key trend driving wealth transfer and asset growth.

*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.*