Mirae Asset Financial Group is in discussions to acquire a majority stake in Korbit, South Korea's fourth-largest cryptocurrency exchange, according to industry sources familiar with the matter. The potential deal could value the combined stake at between 100-140 billion won ($70-98 million).

Mirae Asset Eyes Crypto Exchange Korbit in $70-140M Deal

The Seoul-based financial conglomerate is negotiating to purchase a 60.5 percent stake from NXC, Korbit's largest shareholder, and a 31.5 percent stake from SK Planet. The combined 92 percent ownership would give Mirae Asset control of an exchange that has struggled to compete in a market where Upbit and Bithumb command over 95 percent of trading volume.

Mirae Asset has built its business around traditional financial services since the late 1990s and has not previously entered the cryptocurrency sector.

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The potential acquisition would be led by Mirae Asset Consulting, the group's real estate and consulting arm that sits atop a corporate structure spanning securities, asset management, venture capital, life insurance and pension operations.

"A potential bid for Korbit is in line with Park's vision for digital asset-based financial innovation," an industry source told The Korea Times. "Korbit has historically had a limited presence, but Mirae Asset Financial Group's decades of expertise could allow it to pursue a differentiated strategy.”

Traditional Finance Moves Into Crypto

The move follows a pattern of traditional financial firms acquiring crypto platforms throughout 2025. IG Group purchased Australian crypto exchange Independent Reserve for £87 million in September, paying 5x the platform's last fiscal year revenue to enter the Asia-Pacific crypto market. The deal gave the London-based CFD broker access to Independent Reserve's 129,400 funded accounts holding A$1.7 billion in assets.

Robinhood completed its acquisition of Bitstamp in June, gaining over 50 licenses and customers across the EU, UK, US, and Asia. That transaction marked Robinhood's entry into institutional crypto services.

The trend has also moved in reverse. Crypto.com acquired CySEC-regulated broker Allnew Investments in May to obtain a MiFID license, planning to offer CFDs on FX and other assets across Europe by the third quarter.

Industry observers note that global firms including BlackRock, Coinbase, Visa and Mastercard are competing for position in the digital asset ecosystem, making acquisitions like Korbit potentially valuable despite its limited market share.

The South Korean crypto market remains highly concentrated, with Upbit and Bithumb dominating while Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX split the remaining single-digit market share. Whether Mirae Asset's traditional finance expertise can change that dynamic remains to be seen.