[비즈한국] Signs of a tectonic shift are emerging in the domestic cryptocurrency exchange market. This follows reports that the global exchange OKX and Korea Investment & Securities are considering the acquisition of a stake in Coinone, the third-largest exchange in South Korea. With a series of major financial institutions and foreign exchanges entering the domestic market—such as Hana Financial-Naver-Dunamu, Mirae Asset-Korbit, and Binance-Gopax—the potential for an industry reshuffling is growing. However, Coinone faces challenges including ongoing regulatory sanction disputes, VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider) renewal issues, and deteriorating performance, leaving the industry watching to see what the outcome of these investment discussions will be.
On the 15th, it was reported that global cryptocurrency exchange OKX and Korea Investment & Securities are discussing a plan to jointly acquire approximately 20% each of the shares in Coinone, the third-largest domestic crypto exchange. Along with Binance and Coinbase, OKX is a major player, consistently ranking in the top 2-3 in the global market. While it was reported last April that Korea Investment & Securities was considering the acquisition of Coinone, OKX has now joined the fray.
Coinone's shareholders are primarily divided between founder and CEO Cha Myung-hoon and the Com2uS group. The largest shareholder is The One Group (34.30%), a company where CEO Cha serves as the largest shareholder and CEO. CEO Cha personally holds a 19.14% stake in Coinone as well. Additionally, the second-largest shareholder is Com2uS Holdings063080 (21.95%), and Com2uS Plus also holds a 16.47% stake in Coinone.
Regarding the acquisition rumors, Coinone stated, "We are discussing partnerships, including strategic equity investments, with multiple companies, but nothing has been confirmed at this time." However, the market is closely watching whether OKX will become the second foreign exchange to enter the domestic market. In particular, the potential for an industry shift is being raised given the active trading of domestic crypto exchange stakes since last year. On the day the news of the joint investment by OKX and Korea Investment & Securities broke, major domestic financial holding company Hana Financial Group announced its entry into the digital asset market by acquiring a 6.55% stake in Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, for 1.0033 trillion KRW, making it the 4th largest shareholder.
In February, Mirae Asset Group secured a 92.06% stake in Korbit through its affiliate Mirae Asset Consulting, and Naver Financial is also preparing for a business combination with Dunamu. Binance, the world's largest exchange, has already entered the Korean market by acquiring a 67.45% stake in Gopax (operated by Streami). Analysts suggest that if another major exchange like OKX enters, the domestic market structure, currently centered around Upbit, could change.
Attention is also focused on the current status of Coinone ahead of a potential change in ownership. Coinone is suffering from a double whammy of financial authority sanctions and deteriorating performance. In April, the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) imposed a 3-month partial business suspension—prohibiting the transfer of virtual assets from new customers—along with a 5.2 billion KRW fine and a disciplinary warning for executives. The reason for the measures was the violation of the obligation to prohibit transactions with unregistered virtual asset service providers. Although the suspension was scheduled from April 29 to July 28, its effect has been temporarily suspended until May 29.
On the 13th, the first hearing for the case regarding the application for a stay of execution of sanctions between Coinone and the FIU was held at the Seoul Administrative Court. While the hearing was held behind closed doors at the request of both parties, it is understood that Coinone presented arguments similar to those used in the previously litigated cases of Dunamu and Bithumb, while the FIU emphasized that the damages caused by the partial suspension were not significant and that the situation differs from the Dunamu case.
Coinone, currently embroiled in a legal battle with financial authorities, also faces the task of renewing its VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider) status. Under the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, domestic virtual asset service providers must renew their business reports every three years. Exchanges submitted their reports last year, but among the five major KRW exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, Gopax), only Upbit and Korbit have had their renewals accepted by the FIU. Furthermore, reports surfaced that Coinone received failing marks in key categories during an internal control system inspection of the five major exchanges conducted by the financial authority joint investigation team last April, leading to predictions that the VASP renewal will not be easy.
Moreover, the profitability has worsened due to the stagnation of the virtual asset market. In 2025, Coinone's revenue was 45.5 billion KRW, a 3% increase from the previous year (44.2 billion KRW), but during the same period, its operating profit deficit widened from -6 billion KRW to -6.3 billion KRW. While it maintained a net profit, it decreased by 83% compared to the same period the previous year (from 15.6 billion KRW to 2.7 billion KRW).
The decrease in member deposits—the cash held by exchange users to trade virtual assets—is also notable. Coinone's member deposits dropped from 244.4 billion KRW in 2024 to 183.3 billion KRW in 2025. This suggests that users have either withdrawn their funds from the exchange or moved them to other exchanges. However, given that market liquidity was low last year due to dampened investment sentiment, it is more likely that the funds left due to a decline in virtual asset investment rather than migration to other exchanges.
Yang Hyun-kyung, a researcher at iM Securities, analyzed, "Coinone's average daily trading volume in 2026 increased by 27.8% compared to the second half of 2025 due to trading volume cashback events and fee-free policies. However, I judge this to be closer to the effect of one-time promotions rather than structural growth. Due to the regulatory environment, it is difficult for domestic virtual asset exchanges to diversify their business structures rapidly like global exchanges. They remain highly dependent on revenue structures centered on trading volume and fees, and a structure where trading volume decline directly impacts performance persists. For the time being, the recovery of trading volume and improvement in investment sentiment will be the most important factors."