Hana Financial invests $670mn in Dunamu to become fourth-largest sharehol...

(Yonhap)

Hana Financial Group is set to become the fourth-largest shareholder of Dunamu Inc., the operator of cryptocurrency exchange Upbit.

Hana Financial announced on Friday that it will acquire around 1 trillion won ($670 million) worth of shares in Dunamu through Hana Bank.

The board of directors of Hana Bank approved a resolution on Friday to purchase 2.28 million shares of Dunamu from Kakao Investment Co. for about 1 trillion won.

Following completion of the transaction, Hana Bank will hold a 6.55 percent stake in Dunamu, ranking fourth behind Chair Song Chi-hyung with 25.5 percent, Vice Chair Kim Hyoung-nyon with 13.1 percent, and Woori Technology Investment Co. with 7.2 percent.

It will be followed by Hanwha Investment & Securities Co. with 5.93 percent, while Kakao Investment’s stake will fall from 10.58 percent to about 4 percent after the sale.

Dunamu operates Upbit, Korea’s largest digital asset exchange by market share.

With the acquisition, Hana Financial aims to respond actively to rapid changes in the financial sector amid digital transformation, while securing new growth engines.

“We will work with Dunamu to lead the development of a blockchain ecosystem in Korea and strengthen efforts to position the country’s digital asset industry as a global leader,” said Hana Financial Chairman Ham Young-joo.

Alongside the equity investment, Hana Financial and Dunamu signed a memorandum of understanding to develop future innovation models.

The two entities plan to advance Dunamu’s Global Infrastructure for Web3 Access, also known as GIWA Chain, as core infrastructure for future digital finance supporting a Korean blockchain ecosystem.

They also plan to cooperate on building infrastructure for a Korean won stablecoin ecosystem spanning issuance, circulation, usage and redemption, while exploring additional collaboration opportunities amid ongoing changes in the digital asset investment market.