Three Samsung affiliates announced Thursday they’re buying a combined 4% stake in Dunamu, the operator of South Korea’s largest crypto exchange Upbit, for about 612.8 billion won ($408 million). The shares, purchased from Kakao-affiliated funds at roughly 439,250 won per share, value Dunamu at around 15.3 trillion won ($11.1 billion). The deal, set to close June 19, marks the latest big-money bet by a traditional Korean conglomerate on the country’s digital asset market.
Who’s buying what
Samsung Securities takes the biggest piece at 2%, while Samsung SDS and Samsung Card each pick up 1%. The seller side: Kakao Investment and Kakao Ventures are offloading the stake. The price per share implies a valuation that’s been rising fast — earlier this month Hana Bank agreed to buy 6.55% of Dunamu for about 1 trillion won ($670 million), and Hanwha Investment and Securities boosted its holding to 9.84% by committing another 597.8 billion won.
Why each Samsung unit has its own reason
The three affiliates aren’t just grabbing a passive stake. A Samsung official said the investment aims to boost each company’s competitiveness in digital asset businesses. Samsung Securities is focused on tokenized securities — a market that’s slowly taking shape in Korea. Samsung SDS brings blockchain infrastructure expertise, and Samsung Card sees an opportunity in digital asset payments, including potential integration with its Monimo platform and won-based stablecoins. That’s three different angles, but they all feed into the same thesis: big Korean firms are racing to get a foothold before the regulatory framework solidifies.
Waiting on the Digital Asset Basic Act
The timing isn’t accidental. South Korea’s Digital Asset Basic Act is expected to be finalized this year, giving legal clarity to crypto exchanges and service providers. Dunamu, which handled more than 80% of South Korea’s virtual asset trading volume in fiscal 2025, is the obvious target for any conglomerate wanting to be a major player. The company reported a net profit of 708.8 billion won on revenues of 1.56 trillion won last year — numbers that explain why everyone from Hana to Hanwha to Samsung is writing big checks.
What’s next
The June 19 closing date is the first concrete milestone. After that, attention will turn to how Samsung’s three units actually deploy their respective strategies — token securities, blockchain infrastructure, and payment rails — inside Dunamu’s ecosystem. With the Digital Asset Basic Act still in draft, the regulatory path for each use case remains the big unknown.
