Hana Financial Group is making a landmark strategic investment, committing 1 trillion won ($667 billion) into Dunamu, the operator of Korea’s premier crypto exchange, Upbit. This significant tie-up marks the largest collaboration to date between a major Korean banking group and a domestic digital asset firm, signaling a new era for financial innovation in Korea.
Hana Financial Group officially announced on Friday that its board has approved the acquisition of 2,284,000 Dunamu shares from Kakao Investment. The purchase price for this substantial stake is set at 1.033 trillion won, reflecting Dunamu’s growing market valuation.
This pivotal deal grants Hana Financial Group a 6.55 percent ownership stake in Dunamu, positioning it as the company’s fourth-largest shareholder. The leading shareholders include founder and Chair Song Chi-hyung (25.51 percent), Vice Chair Kim Hyoung-nyon (13.1 percent), and Woori Technology (7.2 percent), underscoring Hana’s significant entry into the digital asset landscape.
This groundbreaking investment represents Korea’s first major equity transaction uniting a traditional financial powerhouse with a cutting-edge digital asset company. It strategically propels Hana Financial Group deeper into the realms of blockchain-based finance and the development of stablecoins, even as regulatory discussions around digital assets continue to evolve.
Beyond the share acquisition, Hana Financial Group and Dunamu have formalized their partnership through a memorandum of understanding (MOU). This agreement focuses on collaboratively developing innovative services that bridge traditional finance and digital assets, leveraging Dunamu’s proprietary blockchain network, Kiwa.
The partnership builds on a foundation of ongoing joint ventures. Since late last year, both Hana Financial Group and Dunamu have been actively developing a system to facilitate SWIFT-based foreign currency remittances using the Kiwa blockchain. Following a successful proof of concept in February, the firms expanded their collaboration in April, signing a three-way partnership with Posco International to pilot the service in real-world scenarios.
Hana Financial Group intends to harness this strategic alliance to significantly enhance its real-time transaction and settlement capabilities within blockchain-based foreign currency remittances. This initiative strategically positions Hana at the forefront of Korea’s evolving foreign exchange services, preparing for future advancements in global financial transfers.
Furthering their collaboration, the group also plans to work extensively with Dunamu on won-backed stablecoins, covering every aspect from their initial issuance and circulation to their practical use and redemption. This strategic foresight extends to exploring additional lucrative opportunities within digital asset investment services.
The scope of this transformative partnership also extends internationally. Hana Financial Group and Dunamu aim to combine Hana’s robust global network with Dunamu’s advanced blockchain technology to jointly pursue new digital asset businesses, execute strategic international investments, and forge service partnerships across various global markets.
A key focus of their collaboration includes the development of an integrated wealth management service, seamlessly connecting Upbit with Hana Financial’s comprehensive platforms. Hana Financial Group plans to merge its established fund, pension, and trust expertise with Dunamu’s sophisticated digital asset infrastructure, pioneering a new model for managing both traditional and digital assets for its clients.
“This investment is a strategic move designed to accelerate financial innovation specifically within the digital assets sector,” affirmed Ham Young-joo, Chairman of Hana Financial Group.
“By actively collaborating with Dunamu, we are committed to helping shape Korea’s burgeoning blockchain ecosystem and to propelling the nation’s digital asset industry towards global leadership and prominence.”
Meanwhile, Kakao is strategically divesting a portion of its long-held Dunamu investment, realizing substantial gains. Through its wholly owned investment subsidiary, Kakao Investment, the IT conglomerate initially invested a total of 35.5 billion won in Dunamu after the crypto exchange’s inception in 2012. The value of this initial investment has since escalated more than 300-fold. Following Friday’s significant sale, Kakao will still maintain a strategic stake of approximately 4 percent in Dunamu.
jwc
