Key highlights:

  • Mirae Asset has purchased shares of the South Korean crypto exchange Korbit.
  • The company intends to buy more shares according to a revised filing.
  • Many financial companies have already entered into the South Korean crypto space. 

South Korean financial giant Mirae Asset Consulting has reportedly completed its acquisition of a controlling stake in Korbit, one of the country's leading crypto exchanges. With this move, the financial firm has marked its entry into the crypto space, highlighting the growing convergence between traditional finance (TradFi) and crypto.

Notably, the deal was first announced in February 2026. Now, the companies have finalized it following regulatory approvals, with Mirae Asset Consulting becoming the largest shareholder of Korbit.

Mirae Asset completes Korbit Acquisition

Mirae Asset has become the largest shareholder of South Korean crypto exchange Korbit following the latest acquisition. As announced by Korbit on Thursday, Mirae Asset Consulting, an affiliate of Mirae Asset Financial Group, has met the regulatory standards of owning the exchange’s shares, thus acquiring a controlling stake in Korbit. Mirae Asset stated that the purchase is to “secure future growth momentum based on digital assets."

The exchange further stated that this share acquisition will not affect the daily operations of the company. There will be no changes in trading, deposits, withdrawals, or customer asset protection, added the platform.  

Moreover, Korbit assured that customer deposits and cryptocurrencies will continue to be kept away from the exchange funds. This is in compliance with South Korea’s Virtual Asset User Protection Act. The company added that it will also manage customer details as before. This means that there will be no major changes in the crypto exchange’s policies despite the Mirae Asset deal.

While Mirae Asset initially announced the deal in February, waiting for regulatory approval, the financial giant now intends to acquire more shares of the crypto exchange. The firm submitted a revised regulatory filing this week, which reveals that it plans to purchase another $5.32 million worth of Korbit shares. If this purchase happens, Mirae Asset’s stake will increase from the current 92.06% to 97.15%. As per local reports, this additional purchase will be completed by Friday.

South Korea’s financial giants are expanding into crypto

It is important to note that Mirae Asset’s acquisition of Korbit shares is not just an isolated event. It reflects a broader pattern of traditional financial platforms connecting with crypto companies in South Korea and all over the world. A growing trend is that these financial organizations are choosing to purchase shares of established crypto firms instead of building a cryptocurrency platform from the beginning.

In South Korea, this trend is more visible. This is due to the country’s favourable conditions in the crypto space. Over the past few years, many financial behemoths have entered the crypto industry. Shinhan Bank, KB Kookmin Bank, and NongHyup Bank have already adopted blockchain technology to expand their services to crypto. They have expanded their involvement in digital assets via crypto custody services, blockchain projects, and exchange partnerships.

Besides South Korea, global countries are also experiencing this fading gap between TradFi and crypto. For instance, Japan’s SBI Group has announced the acquisition of the crypto exchange Bitbank for $289 million. The platform has also agreed to purchase a majority stake in the Singapore-based exchange Coinhako.