$100 million investment in Korbit? Future assets (Mirae) to build a crypto financial landscape

One of Korea’s largest financial groups, Mirae Asset, is reportedly in talks to acquire Korbit, one of Korea’s four major cryptocurrency exchanges, with an estimated transaction amount of 100 million USD. This marks a further trend of mainstream financial capital acquiring Web3 infrastructure.

Mirae Asset Group Plans to Acquire Korea’s Fourth Largest Virtual Currency Exchange Korbit

According to Chosun Ilbo, Mirae Asset Group is actively seeking to acquire Korea’s fourth largest virtual currency exchange Korbit.

Mirae Asset Group’s subsidiary, Mirae Asset Consulting, recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Korbit’s major shareholders, aiming to acquire a portion of its shares. Korbit is currently owned approximately 60.5% by NXC, the holding company of Nexon, and its subsidiary Simple Capital Futures, with about 31.5% held by SK Square. It is reported that the transaction amount is expected to be between 100 billion and 140 billion Korean won (approximately 100 million USD).

Mirae’s Web3 Puzzle

Mirae Asset Group is Korea’s largest independent financial group. Unlike traditional financial holding companies that rely on banking operations, it is centered on “securities and asset management.”

Over the past five years, Mirae Asset Group has transformed from a strategic investor role into an infrastructure builder (custody, ST), and now officially into a market operator (exchange acquisition).

In 2022, it established a custody subsidiary: Mirae Asset Securities announced its entry into digital asset custody in 2022, providing custody services for cryptocurrencies and NFTs for institutional clients.

STO Leader: Collaborating with the Mina Foundation, utilizing zero-knowledge proofs and ZK Rollup technology to ensure transaction privacy and compliance during security token offering (STO) processes (security token issuance).

Flagship Subsidiary Global X’s Layout: Their US ETF brand Global X has already issued multiple ETFs and thematic funds related to Bitcoin and blockchain technology overseas (such as BITS).

Early Web3 Investments: The group’s investment division has long participated in Web3 financing in Silicon Valley and Asia, including early investments in projects combining AI and blockchain.

Korean Regulatory Environment Gradually Clarifies, Traditional Finance Reaps Web3

Mirae Asset’s approach aligns with the typical logic of traditional finance (TradFi) harvesting Web3.

Understanding the Industry Through VC

Building Infrastructure: Establish custody and STO platforms to ensure compliance.

Mass Entry: When the market matures, directly acquire licensed exchanges (like Korbit) to complete the ecosystem.

As Korea’s regulatory environment gradually clarifies, it attracts large-capital deployments. This also marks a further trend of mainstream financial capital acquiring Web3 infrastructure.

This article, “100 Million USD to Take Over Korbit? Mirae Asset Builds Crypto Financial Landscape,” first appeared on Chain News ABMedia.