Hana Bank Pays ₩1 Trillion for 6.55% of Upbit Operator Dunamu

TL;DR - Hana Bank, the flagship lender of Hana Financial Group, will buy a 6.55% stake in Dunamu — the operator of Korea's largest crypto exchange Upbit — for ₩1 trillion ($669 million) cash. - The deal makes Hana Financial Dunamu's fourth-largest shareholder and is described by The Korea Times as "the largest-ever investment by a bank into a virtual asset operator." - Watch the June 15 target closing and the parallel ₩20 trillion Naver Financial–Dunamu share-swap, which will determine the long-term structure of Hana's stake.

Lead

Hana Financial Group disclosed on May 15 that its banking flagship Hana Bank will acquire 2,284,000 shares — a 6.55% stake — in cryptocurrency-exchange operator Dunamu from Kakao Investment, the venture arm of internet giant Kakao Corp, for ₩1 trillion ($669 million) in cash. The Korea Times described the transaction as "the largest-ever investment by a bank into a virtual asset operator," and Chosunbiz reported a target closing date of June 15. The deal positions Hana Financial as Dunamu's fourth-largest shareholder, ahead of a separately disclosed merger between the Upbit operator and Naver Financial, the fintech arm of internet giant Naver.

What Happened

Per Hana Financial's regulatory filing as carried by The Korea Times, Hana Bank will purchase the entire 6.55% block from Kakao Investment. Chosunbiz reported the share count at 2,284,000 and noted that the purchase price equals 2.78% of Hana Bank's 2025 equity, with the full amount paid in cash. Hana Financial described the deal as a "strategic equity investment to secure new financial competitiveness," according to the disclosure summarized by Chosunbiz.

Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo said in a statement carried by Chosunbiz that the group will "concentrate all of its capabilities so that the domestic virtual asset industry can leap to a globally leading level," and pledged to "lead the development of the K-blockchain ecosystem" with Dunamu. The two companies have been cooperating on a won-based stablecoin and on a security-token-offering (STO) platform run by Hana Securities, Hana Financial's brokerage subsidiary, per Chosunbiz.

Why It Matters

The transaction is the first concrete signal that South Korea's incumbent commercial banks are willing to take direct equity exposure to crypto-exchange operators rather than limit themselves to the "real-name account" banking arrangements that have defined the bank–exchange interface since 2018. The Korea Times wrote the deal "heralds … business cooperation going beyond simple services" toward future products including stablecoin issuance. It also lands at an inflection point on ownership rules: in March 2026, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) — Korea's top financial regulator — and the ruling Democratic Party's Digital Asset Task Force agreed on a 20% ownership cap for major shareholders of Upbit and Bithumb, with the FSC empowered to grant exceptions up to 34%, per CryptoTimes. Existing major holders would face a three-year divestment clock from the law's effective date.

Business Impact

For Hana Financial, the ₩1 trillion outlay equals 2.78% of Hana Bank's prior-year capital, per Chosunbiz — a sizable but contained commitment. The investment gives the group an equity hold in a company whose 2025 results, as reported by Bloomberg, included assets of ₩13.17 trillion ($8.8 billion), sales of ₩1.56 trillion ($1.04 billion), and net profit of ₩709 billion ($475 million).

For Dunamu, the transaction converts Kakao Investment's pre-deal 10.6% holding (per Bloomingbit) into a partial exit. Bloomingbit reported the appraisal-rights reference price at ₩439,252 per share, the regulatory benchmark used in related-party Korean share transfers. Founder-Chairman Song Chi-hyung's roughly 25.5% stake and Vice Chairman Kim Hyung-nyun's roughly 13.1% (per Bloomingbit) remain the two largest holdings.

Industry & Historical Context

Hana and Dunamu have a deepening track record. In April 2026, Hana Financial, Dunamu and POSCO International — the trading arm of steelmaker POSCO Group — signed an MOU to develop a blockchain-based cross-border remittance platform using Dunamu's Giwa Chain, per The Korea Herald. Earlier in 2026, Hana Financial separately formed a won-stablecoin consortium with BNK Financial Group, iM Financial Group and SC First Bank (the Korean arm of Standard Chartered), according to Asia Business Daily.

The investment also sits in the shadow of the ₩20 trillion ($13.6 billion) reverse merger between Naver Financial and Dunamu announced in November 2025, per KED Global. Under the previously disclosed terms, Dunamu Chair Song Chi-hyung would become the largest shareholder of the combined Naver Financial entity with a 19.5% stake. A Dunamu shareholder vote on the merger is scheduled for May, per Bloomingbit — meaning Hana would, if the share-swap closes on current terms, inherit a position in the combined ₩20 trillion entity rather than Dunamu standalone.

What to Watch

• June 15 closing: Chosunbiz cited this as the targeted acquisition date for the Hana–Kakao Investment block trade.
• FSC ownership-cap legislation: The 20% cap (up to 34% with exception) for Upbit and Bithumb has not yet passed into law, per CryptoTimes, which flagged a three-year divestment clock starting from the law's effective date.
• Naver Financial–Dunamu shareholder vote: Approval would convert Hana's 6.55% Dunamu stake into a position in the combined ₩20 trillion entity, per KED Global.
• KRW stablecoin rules: The Bank of Korea, Korea's central bank, and the FSC remain split on whether banks must hold majority control in stablecoin-issuing consortia, per reporting picked up across the Korean financial press.

Sources: - The Korea Times — https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/business/banking-finance/20260515/hana-financial-buys-stake-in-no-1-crypto-exchange-operator-dunamu - Chosunbiz — https://biz.chosun.com/stock/finance/2026/05/15/Q7P3IL4O55BXBCQXLHLM76PSQM/ - Bloomberg — https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-15/hana-buys-670-million-stake-in-crypto-exchange-operator-dunamu - KED Global — https://www.kedglobal.com/fintech/newsView/ked202511260007 - CryptoTimes — https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/03/04/south-korea-sets-ownership-cap-for-upbit-and-bithumb/ - Bloomingbit — https://en.bloomingbit.io/feed/news/104142 - The Korea Herald — https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10728481

By LineVest Markets Desk — May 15, 2026This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.