Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo speaks in a ceremony held to reinforce the group's commitment to financial consumer protection at the Hana Bank in central Seoul on Feb. 12. [HANA FINANCIAL GROUP]
Hana Financial Group is investing 1 trillion won ($670 million) in Dunamu, the country’s largest crypto exchange operator, to become its fourth largest shareholder, as the holding company seeks to push financial innovation.
In a regulatory filing on Friday, Hana Financial said that its bank unit will acquire a 6.55 percent stake in Dunamu from Kakao Investment for 1.033 trillion won. It is the largest investment by a bank into a virtual asset operator.
An operator of Upbit, Dunamu’s corporate value is estimated at around 15 trillion won. Dunamu’s largest shareholders are its founder and chair, Song Chi-hyung, who holds 25.51 percent; Vice Chair Kim Hyoung-nyon, with 13.1 percent; and Woori Technology, with 7.2 percent.
Unlike previous partnerships between financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges, which were largely limited to arrangements such as issuing real-name accounts, the direct equity investment is expected to create more advanced synergies in future financial services, including the issuance of won-backed stablecoins, according to industry insiders.
The investment is a strategic decision aimed at accelerating financial innovation based on digital assets, said Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo. Since 2023, Ham has publicly stressed the importance of expanding investments in cryptocurrencies and nonfinancial sectors. Within the group, there was reportedly a growing sense that relying solely on the traditional bank-centered business model would make it difficult to adapt to changes in the future financial landscape.
Hana Financial Group and Dunamu have jointly worked on developing blockchain-based overseas remittance services since last year. In February, the two companies completed a proof of concept for implementing the existing Swift-based foreign-exchange remittance system on a blockchain network. In April, they further expanded the initiative by signing a three-way agreement with Posco International to establish a real-world testing framework.
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