Samsung units buy 4% of Upbit operator Dunamu for $408M

Three Samsung affiliates will purchase a 4% stake in Dunamu, the operator of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, in an all-cash block sale that is scheduled to close on June 19, 2026. The buyers will acquire roughly 1.39 million shares from Kakao-affiliated sellers, including Kakao Investment, Kakao Ventures, the Kakao Youth Entrepreneurship Fund and the KIF-Kakao Woori Bank Technology Finance Investment Fund. The per-share price is set between 439,250 and 441,000 won, implying a company valuation of about 15.3 trillion won (roughly $11.1 billion).

Samsung Securities will take a 2% stake by buying about 697,487 shares for roughly 306.3 billion won. Samsung SDS and Samsung Card will each acquire approximately 1% stakes. Samsung Securities indicated plans to cooperate with Dunamu on tokenized securities issuance, distribution and virtual asset services. Samsung SDS intends to pair its artificial intelligence, cloud, cybersecurity and data management capabilities with Dunamu’s blockchain infrastructure to develop digital finance software. Samsung Card expressed interest in crypto payment networks and may explore integration with its Monimo payments platform should won-denominated stablecoins gain regulatory approval. A Samsung official described the investment as intended to strengthen the group’s position in digital finance and to enter blockchain-based financial products.

Dunamu welcomed the new investors and characterized the partnership as an opportunity to advance blockchain payments, distribution systems and artificial intelligence initiatives. Upbit handles an estimated 70% to 80% of South Korea’s domestic cryptocurrency trading volume and recorded about $1.21 billion in 24-hour trading volume at the time of the deal, placing it among the largest exchanges globally by volume. Dunamu was founded in 2012 and launched Upbit in October 2017. The company’s operations include a blockchain research unit, Lambda256, and a developer platform, Nodit, alongside other investment and services subsidiaries.

In fiscal 2025 Dunamu reported net profit of 708.8 billion won on revenue of 1.56 trillion won. Earlier institutional purchases in May included Hana Bank acquiring a 6.55% stake for about 1 trillion won and Hanwha Investment & Securities buying a reported stake near 9.84%. Together with the Samsung affiliates’ purchase, those transactions have transferred close to 14% of Dunamu’s shares to major Korean financial firms and reduced the portion held by Kakao.

South Korean regulators are advancing frameworks that would permit won-based stablecoins and broader use of tokenized assets in payments and finance. Several traditional financial firms have chosen to take ownership stakes in regulated exchanges as a way to position themselves for tokenized products and crypto-linked payment services if the legal framework allows. The June 19 closing gives both sides roughly three weeks to complete the share transfer.