OKX is negotiating with Korea Investment & Securities to acquire a roughly 20% stake in Coinone, one of South Korea's five licensed crypto exchanges. If it goes through, the deal would mark the first time a major global player has gained a direct foothold in Seoul's heavily restricted digital asset market — a market that has long operated under strict capital controls and a ban on foreign exchange ownership.
Why Coinone
Coinone is one of only a handful of exchanges in South Korea that hold both a real-name account partnership with a local bank and a Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) certification — requirements that effectively lock out foreign platforms. The exchange has struggled to keep pace with Upbit and Bithumb in trading volume but remains a viable entry point. A 20% stake would give OKX board representation and a say in operations without triggering the outright ownership restrictions that apply to foreign entities.
South Korea's shifting regulatory ground
Seoul has been rethinking its crypto rules this year. The Financial Services Commission signaled in early 2026 that it may ease some of the more rigid capital-flow restrictions that have kept the local market isolated. That shift — combined with the government's push to attract institutional capital — makes the timing workable for OKX. The exchange has been looking for a compliant way into Asia's third-largest crypto economy for more than a year.
The talks are still preliminary, and a deal would need approval from the Financial Services Commission and the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit. Korea Investment & Securities, a brokerage arm of the Korea Investment Holdings group, would act as the investment vehicle. No timeline has been set. The key question is whether regulators will sign off on a foreign-linked entity owning a slice of a licensed Korean exchange — something they have never allowed before.
