Coin Alliances Rivaling the Three Kingdoms: Exchanges, Financial Firms, and Conglomerates Battle for Dominance [Bitcoin Now]

Fierce Competition for Exchange Stake Acquisitions
Alliances and Workarounds to Overcome Regulatory Barriers
"Heavy Reliance on Overseas Core Technology Infrastructure"

As the introduction of won-based stablecoins and the legalization of security token offerings (STOs) signal the impending integration of virtual assets into the institutional financial system, domestic financial institutions, conglomerates, fintech firms, and global Web3 foundations are accelerating their strategic alliances. Analysts believe these entities are proactively forming coalitions in the absence of a dominant market leader to influence forthcoming regulatory guidelines to their advantage.

According to a report released on June 9 by Tiger Research, a Web3-focused research firm, which tracked 150 organizations and 196 partnership cases in the Korean virtual asset market, the share of individual investor trading volume has dropped by approximately 48% year-on-year, shifting the market’s center of gravity toward institutions. As this shift occurs, the competition for leadership in the virtual asset market is unfolding across three main fronts: stablecoins, STOs, and custody services, with multiple companies simultaneously ramping up their efforts to establish strategic alliances.

In particular, competition to acquire stakes in virtual asset exchanges is intensifying. Companies are moving beyond simple memoranda of understanding (MOUs) to actual equity acquisitions in order to secure a direct customer interface for digital finance. This is because exchanges are increasingly being recognized not just as coin trading fee platforms, but as core channels for distributing stablecoins, custody services, STOs, and real-world asset (RWA) products. For banks and securities companies, the strategy is to indirectly obtain a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license and gain access to exchange users and liquidity.

In reality, major financial institutions and conglomerates have been focused on acquiring stakes. Last month, Hana Bank announced its plan to acquire a 6.55% stake in Dunamu, operator of Upbit, for about 1 trillion won, while Hanwha Investment & Securities resolved to acquire an additional 3.90% stake. Following this, Samsung Securities, Samsung SDS, and Samsung Card jointly disclosed their intent to acquire a combined 4.0% stake. Additionally, Mirae Asset Consulting is acquiring a 92.06% stake in Korbit, while Korea Investment & Securities is discussing a joint acquisition of Coinone with global exchange OKX.

In the stablecoin market, a diverse range of participants—including card companies, exchanges, fintech firms, and infrastructure providers—are involved. The largest coalition to date is led by the Kakao Group. KakaoTalk, KakaoBank, and KakaoPay have formed a joint task force to build a “super wallet” that will support stablecoins, cryptocurrencies, and even local currencies. Kakao has already begun practical payment tests by distributing Tether (USDT) via its public blockchain, Klaytn.

Shinhan Card has signed an MOU with global mainnet Solana and is conducting advanced tests in six areas, including wallets and smart contracts, in collaboration with Visa and Mastercard. Dunamu, in partnership with Naver Financial, is developing a won-based stablecoin business on its proprietary blockchain KIWA. Bithumb, meanwhile, has partnered with Circle and others to first secure a distribution network for dollar-based stablecoins as an alternative strategy. However, the current stablecoin market faces a regulatory impasse due to competing arguments over issuer qualifications—namely, the Bank of Korea’s “51% rule” (allowing only consortia in which banks hold a majority stake) versus calls to permit fintech entry—delaying government and party consultations.

In the RWA and STO sectors, companies are pooling resources in large-scale consortiums while awaiting relevant legislation. The two main axes are the Koscom consortium, aiming to integrate 11 securities firms onto its platform to establish itself as a neutral infrastructure provider, and the Shinhan Investment & Securities alliance, which is building its own ecosystem. Mirae Asset Securities has taken an independent path, issuing digital bonds in Hong Kong and joining the U.S. DTCC working group, thereby entering overseas markets directly rather than waiting for domestic regulatory reforms. In the custody market, four main alliances have formed, combining traditional capital with virtual asset technology companies: KODA (led by KB Kookmin Bank and Hashed), KDAC (centered on Shinhan and NH Nonghyup Bank), BDACS (Woori Bank and Circle), and BitGo Korea (Hana Financial Group and SK Telecom).

The report points out that while Korean institutions have developed vast business structures and alliances, they remain heavily reliant on foreign technology solutions for core infrastructure, which could lead to future technology fee outflows and issues with domestic regulatory compliance. As a result, Korean technology firms aiming to build independent digital finance infrastructure are gaining attention as new alternatives. Notable examples include LG CNS—which is the main contractor for the Bank of Korea’s CBDC project “Hangang” and the developer of STO platforms for Koscom and Mirae Asset—DSRV, which provides on-chain APIs (DSRV Portal) for financial institutions and recently raised 30 billion won in Series B funding, and Altus, which handles on- and off-chain orchestration layers linking legacy systems and blockchains.

Tiger Research commented, “The reorganization of alliances around institutional players has completely changed the way global crypto foundations approach the Korean market. In the past, the focus was on building a retail investor base to increase trading volume, but now securing partnerships with domestic conglomerates and financial institutions has become the top priority.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.