FSC reviews Hana Bank’s $668M Dunamu stake

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission is reviewing Hana Bank’s planned purchase of roughly 2.2 million Dunamu shares for 1 trillion won (about $668 million) to determine whether the deal falls under the country’s banking-commerce separation rules. The transaction, registered with the Financial Supervisory Service, would give Hana a 6.55% stake and make it the fourth-largest shareholder in Dunamu, the operator of the Upbit cryptocurrency exchange.

Regulators are examining whether acquiring the shares from Kakao Investment, rather than buying directly from Dunamu, brings the transaction within limits on ties between banks and nonfinancial firms. According to an unnamed FSC official, the investment will be assessed under the same standards as a direct stake in the exchange operator.

A senior FSC official noted that constraints on bank involvement with crypto are not spelled out in law and are instead applied through supervisory policy and regulatory interpretation. The commission has not released a timeline for its review.

Banking-commerce separation restricts ownership and control links between traditional banks and commercial companies. Virtual asset service providers such as Dunamu are not currently classified as traditional financial institutions, creating uncertainty about how the separation rules apply when banks invest in crypto operators.

The planned Hana purchase follows a series of financial-sector investments in local crypto exchanges. In February, Mirae Asset agreed to acquire a majority stake in Korbit through a consulting affiliate. There have also been reports of talks between other financial firms and exchanges over minority stakes issued through new share offerings.

In April, lawmakers from the ruling party proposed the Digital Asset Basic Act, a bill to set rules for cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and virtual asset service providers. The proposed law would aim to clarify how existing financial-sector rules apply to crypto firms.

If the FSC determines the Hana transaction is subject to banking-commerce separation limits, the agency could apply the same standard to other bank investments in virtual-asset companies. The FSC has not indicated how long the review will take.

Hana Financial Group has not issued a public statement on the review. The FSC declined to provide further comment beyond the remarks attributed to unnamed officials.

Dunamu operates Upbit, the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The regulator’s decision on whether the purchase falls under separation rules could affect how banks and financial groups structure future investments in digital-asset firms.