Seoul-based financial powerhouse Mirae Asset is reportedly moving into crypto via a potential takeover of local exchange Korbit, the Korea Times reported Monday.
According to industry sources cited by the paper, Mirae Asset is in talks to buy roughly 92% of Korbit for up to 140 billion won (about $97 million). If completed, the deal would mark Mirae’s first direct foray into a cryptocurrency business — a notable step for one of South Korea’s largest traditional finance groups, which operates in asset management, wealth and investment banking, and insurance.
An unnamed official told the Korea Times that Mirae founder Park Hyeon-joo has been pushing the group to explore ways of linking traditional financial services with digital assets. “Korbit has historically had a limited presence, but Mirae Asset Financial Group’s decades of expertise could allow it to pursue a differentiated strategy,” the source said.
Korbit is a relatively small player in South Korea’s regulated exchange landscape. CoinGecko ranks it fourth by 24-hour trading volume among the six exchanges incorporated in the country — recording about $11.8 million in daily volume, compared with market leader Upbit’s roughly $1.2 billion and Bithumb’s $475 million; Coinone sits third with about $58 million.
CoinDesk reached out to both Mirae Asset and Korbit for comment but received no response. The potential acquisition comes amid a broader uptick in crypto M&A this year as traditional firms increasingly eye digital-asset opportunities.
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