Samsung Securities, Samsung SDS and Samsung Card will acquire a 4% stake in Dunamu, operator of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit.
summary
- Samsung affiliates will buy 1.39 million Dunamu shares in exchange for about $408 million in Kakao units.
- Samsung Securities, SDS and Card are planning tokenized securities, blockchain infrastructure and digital asset payments services.
- Hanna’s $670 million Donamo deal shows that the Korean finance giants are preparing for the upcoming digital asset rules.
The deal brings Samsung’s financial and technology units closer to digital assets as South Korea prepares rules for stablecoins, tokenized securities and cryptocurrency payments. It also adds another big Korean name to the race for regulated crypto services.
Samsung units move to Donamo
According to According to ETNews, Samsung’s three subsidiaries agreed to buy 1.39 million Dunamu shares from Kakao-related entities for 612.8 billion won, or about $408 million. Samsung Securities will buy a 2% stake, while Samsung SDS and Samsung Card will each buy 1%.
The stake purchase gives Samsung units direct exposure to Dunamu, which operates Upbit. The exchange remains the largest cryptocurrency trading platform in South Korea and a major player in the country’s digital assets market.
In addition, Samsung Securities plans to work with Dunamu Token securities Issuance, distribution and digital asset services. The partnership could support blockchain-based asset-linked financial products as Korea prepares for new market rules.
Samsung Card is also monitoring the potential launch of won-pegged stablecoins. The cards unit plans to work with Dunamu on digital asset payments and distribute them through Monimo, Samsung’s financial services app.
Samsung SDS adds focus to blockchain infrastructure
Samsung SDS plans to integrate AI, cloud, security and data management services with Dunamu’s blockchain operating experience. The company aims to promote blockchain software and digital finance infrastructure for Korean financial companies.
“This equity investment aims to enhance the competitiveness of each subsidiary in the digital assets business.” A Samsung official said.
A Donamo official also said that the company welcomes the investment and plans to work with Samsung on blockchain-based investment products, payment infrastructure and the use of blockchain related to artificial intelligence.
Korean finance companies prepare for crypto rules
The Samsung deal comes on the heels of Hana Bank’s recent agreement to buy a 6.55% stake in Donamo for about 1 trillion won, or approximately $670 million. Ditto I mentioned By crypto.news, the Hana deal is expected to close on June 15 and will make it the fourth-largest shareholder in Dunamu Bank.
The activity comes as South Korea Works on the basic law of digital assets. The planned framework is expected to cover stablecoins, exchange ownership, digital asset operators and investor protection. For Samsung, Hana and other Korean companies, Dunamu has become a direct way to prepare for the next phase of regulated crypto services.
Dunamu is also working through a merger with Naver Financial, another deal that has caught the attention of regulators. This process, coupled with new digital asset rules, makes Upbit’s parent company a central target for banks, card companies and technology groups trying to secure positions before the market structure becomes clearer.
