South Korean financial heavyweight Mirae Asset Group has completed its acquisition of local cryptocurrency exchange Korbit. The transaction was executed through affiliate Mirae Asset Consulting, which finalized the necessary regulatory approvals to become the exchange’s controlling shareholder.
The move follows clearance from South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC), which designated the deal as the country’s first instance of a traditional financial conglomerate acquiring a virtual asset platform. Initially securing a 92.06% stake, Mirae Asset filed a revised regulatory disclosure to purchase additional shares, bringing its total ownership to 97.15%. The acquisition aligns with the group’s “Mirae Asset 3.0” strategic push to build future growth momentum across digital assets, tokenized securities, and stablecoins.
Korbit confirmed that its operating corporate entity, user asset management, and personal data handling remain unchanged. In accordance with South Korea’s Virtual Asset User Protection Act, client fiat deposits and digital assets will stay strictly segregated from operational funds.
Despite Korbit maintaining a modest share of the domestic trading volume compared to market leader Upbit, the deal sets a precedent for integration between traditional finance and crypto infrastructure in South Korea. Following the transaction, Mirae Asset Chairman Park Hyeon-joo announced plans to rebrand the exchange to “Digital X” as part of a broader intelligent investment platform vision.
