Dunamu, the operator of South Korea's largest crypto exchange Upbit, reported a second-quarter operating profit of 23.5 billion won (about $17 million) — down 85% from a year earlier. Revenue fell 39% to 173.5 billion won. The slump lands weeks before shareholders vote on the company's all-stock merger with Naver Financial.
The profit slide
Operating profit also fell 73.3% from the first quarter. Dunamu's operating margin, which sat at 88% in 2021, is now 14%.
Commission income from the Upbit trading platform dropped 49.8% in the first half to 395.5 billion won (about $279 million). That line still accounts for 97% of Dunamu's revenue, which makes the decline hard to shrug off.
Why volumes dried up
Dunamu blames thinner liquidity across global digital asset markets and weaker investor appetite. The numbers back that up. Trading volume across Korea's five licensed won exchanges fell 49.5% in the second quarter to $146.4 billion, according to CoinGecko.
Two more headwinds are coming. A 22% tax on crypto gains takes effect in January 2027, which could push more retail traders to the sidelines. And Upbit removed three altcoins in September 2026 — a reminder that listings can go the other way.
The merger math
Dunamu's pending all-stock merger with Naver Financial is priced at 439,252 won per share — the same price Samsung, Hana Bank and Hanwha paid in May 2026, when they invested about $1.5 billion and took close to a fifth of the company. That valuation, roughly 15.3 trillion won, hasn't budged since November 2025 even as profits collapsed.
Shareholders vote on the merger on November 19. The date has already slipped twice, and completion is set for December 31. Dunamu says it's upgrading internal systems and following the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, which has been in force since July 2024.
The question hanging over the vote is simple: whether the deal's price still makes sense after an 85% profit drop. The company's answer so far has been to keep the number unchanged.
