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FollowingSouth Korean brokerage Kiwoom Securities is reportedly in talks with Bithumb to take a stake, becoming another traditional financial institution in the country seeking to set foot in a local cryptocurrency exchange. The two companies are discussing a third-party targeted issuance of new shares to allow Kiwoom Securities to acquire the new shares issued by Bithumb.
This trend makes Kiwoom Securities the latest traditional financial company to seek to enter the cryptocurrency market. South Korea\'s Financial Services Commission (FSC) is about to announce new regulatory reforms in July, including a tokenized securities framework, which the country plans to incorporate into the capital market system starting in 2027. These reforms are part of the revised Capital Market Law and Electronic Securities Law, the country\'s first tokenized securities framework, which is scheduled to come into full effect on February 4, 2027. On Wednesday, the FSC incorporated token securities infrastructure into a broader reform of South Korea\'s capital market, aiming to modernize traditional financial markets and bring blockchain-based investment products closer to mainstream securities clearing and trading systems.
Ranking of the top five cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea by daily trading volume. Source: CoinGecko
Bithumb is one of South Korea\'s largest cryptocurrency exchanges by daily trading volume, CoinGecko data shows.
South Korean brokerages target cryptocurrency exchanges
According to reports, Kiwoom\'s negotiations occurred after several large South Korean financial companies acquired shares in local cryptocurrency exchanges and operators. On May 29, Korea Investment & Securities (KIS) and OKX Ventures agreed to jointly invest 160 billion won (approximately US$106 million) to acquire a 19.6% stake in South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Coinone. A day earlier, Samsung Securities, Samsung SDS and Samsung Card acquired a total of 4% shares in Dunamu, the operator of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, for 612.8 billion won (approximately US$408 million). On May 15, Asiana Financial Group said it would acquire a 6.55% stake in Dunamu from Kakao Investment for more than US$668 million, becoming the fourth largest shareholder of Upbit operator. In February, Future Asset Consulting agreed to acquire a 92.06% stake in Korbit for 133.48 billion won (approximately US$93 million) as part of its digital asset layout and gained majority control of the exchange.
