South Korea's Hana Bank has agreed to acquire a 6.6% stake in Dunamu, operator of dominant cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, for 1.033tn won ($670mn) in the country's largest single bank investment into a digital asset company.
Korean Hana Bank Buys $670mn Stake in Upbit Operator Dunamu Ahead of Naver Merger
15 May 2026 - 15:30 CEST
By Matt Neill
The move, announced just days before a key shareholder vote on Dunamu's planned merger with Naver Financial, signals deepening ties between traditional banking and crypto infrastructure.
Strategic banking-crypto tie-up
The deal stems from Hana Financial Group's DART filing on 15 May. Hana Bank's board approved the purchase of 2.3mn shares from Kakao Investment on the same day. Kakao originally invested 35.5bn won in Dunamu after its 2012 founding and has now realized roughly a 300-fold return. Kakao will retain around 4% after the sale.
Hana becomes Dunamu's fourth-largest shareholder, behind founder and chair Song Chi-hyung with 26%, vice chair Kim Hyoung-nyon at 13%, and Woori Technology with 7.2%. The transaction is scheduled to close on 15 June.
Hana Financial Group shares closed down 4.9% at 119,000 won on the announcement on 15 May. The drop came on typical trading volume, reflecting investor caution around execution risks in the upcoming merger and potential regulatory scrutiny under the new ownership cap.
Hana Financial Group chair and chief executive Ham Young-joo said the purchase is "a strategic decision to accelerate financial innovation based on digital assets." He added that the group will work with Dunamu to "lead the creation of a K-blockchain ecosystem" and help the domestic digital asset industry reach a globally leading level.
Blockchain collaboration plans
Hana and Dunamu also signed a memorandum of understanding for three joint projects: blockchain-based foreign currency remittances on Dunamu’s Giwa network, issuance of won-backed stablecoins, and a wealth management product linking Upbit accounts with Hana Financial’s fund, pension and trust services.
Giwa Chain is an Ethereum-based Layer 2 blockchain developed by Dunamu using Optimistic Rollup technology. It is designed for secure, high-speed financial data verification and transactions.
Work on remittances is advancing. Hana and Dunamu completed a proof-of-concept for Swift-based foreign currency remittances on Giwa in February. In April, they signed a three-way partnership with POSCO International, South Korea’s largest trading company and a subsidiary of steel giant POSCO, to test commercial use.
Merger context, regulatory limits
The investment arrives as Dunamu pursues its all-stock merger with Naver, announced in November 2025 and valued at approximately $10.3bn. Shareholders of Dunamu and Naver Financial are set to vote on 22 May, with the share exchange planned for 30 June, subject to regulatory approvals.
Hana's entry adds a major traditional financial institution to the cap table immediately ahead of the vote. The modest 6.6% stake is expected to have limited impact on the merger valuation, but it introduces a new layer of regulatory consideration under South Korea's 20% ownership cap for crypto exchanges, introduced in March.
Dunamu operates Upbit, which commands over 80% of trading volume in South Korea's tightly regulated crypto market. The partnership gives Hana a potential first-mover advantage in won-backed stablecoins and cross-border onchain remittances. It also strengthens Upbit’s infrastructure edge after the merger and advances both parties’ digital asset ambitions in one of the world’s highest per-capita crypto adoption markets.
