Kiwoom Bithumb stake talks deepen South Korea crypto ties

Kiwoom Securities is in talks to buy a stake in Bithumb, The Block reported, as South Korea moves toward draft ownership rules that would cap major crypto-exchange shareholders at 20 per cent.

In May, Reuters reported that Hana Bank planned to buy a 1 trillion won ($700 million) stake in Dunamu, the operator of Upbit. Kiwoom would extend that move from banking into brokerage, shifting traditional finance from client service toward ownership of crypto trading rails.

Regulators in Seoul are tightening the rules around who can own an exchange. The Block reported that draft Digital Asset Basic Act provisions point to a 20 per cent cap on major shareholders, with exceptions that could reach 34 per cent. For Bithumb, outside strategic capital is a governance story as much as a valuation one: tighter limits can force a broader shareholder base and a cleaner regulatory profile.

Why the stake matters

Kiwoom’s interest fits a wider institutionalization of South Korea’s crypto market structure. Hana moved on Dunamu. Samsung affiliates were earlier reported to be buying a combined $407.7 million stake in the same exchange operator. Bithumb, long one of the country’s largest crypto venues, is now said to be drawing interest from a mainstream brokerage rather than a crypto-native buyer.

Such ownership changes how the exchanges are financed and supervised. A broker on the cap table can bring distribution, compliance habits and a closer relationship with the country’s regulated savings and trading system.

Crypto-market volatility would not disappear. Ownership would move toward groups already used to formal supervisory expectations.

Competition matters, too. Dunamu has attracted bank and conglomerate interest, while Bithumb is still trying to reset its ownership story under tighter rules and a slower listing calendar. A Kiwoom deal would give Bithumb its own traditional-finance marker as exchange ownership starts to look like infrastructure allocation, not only venture risk.

Bithumb has publicly tamped down certainty around the talks.

“no specific matters have been reviewed or decided yet”

Bithumb spokesperson, The Block

That caution fits a transaction still at the report stage. Korea’s market backdrop explains why investors would take the talks seriously anyway. Local exchanges are being pushed to look more like financial infrastructure and less like founder-era crypto platforms.

Ownership limits also help explain the timing. Existing holders have reason to reassess control before the rules are final. Prospective buyers can negotiate from a regulatory timetable rather than a simple market upswing. The reported talks are about who gets to sit inside Korea’s next crypto framework as much as who wants a minority stake.

The IPO clock

Timing is another pressure point for Bithumb. The Block reported earlier this month that the exchange had pushed its planned initial public offering to 2028 while it worked through accounting policies and internal controls. The longer runway leaves more time for ownership reshaping before any listing attempt.

For Kiwoom, the delay sharpens the investment logic. If a public listing is years away, Bithumb needs patient capital and credible institutions more than quick headline momentum. A brokerage can get a foothold in trading infrastructure without requiring a full operating merger or a bet on one token cycle.

Still, this is more than a financing round in waiting. The unresolved question is not only what Kiwoom might pay, or how large a holding it might seek. It is what sort of owner base Korean exchanges need if they are to sit more comfortably inside a regulated financial system.

“highly likely take place after 2028”

Bithumb official, The Block

Any Kiwoom investment would look less like a short-term trade than a positioning move ahead of a slower clean-up cycle. It could put another institutional name on Bithumb’s register while regulators settle the final shape of ownership limits. For Kiwoom, the attraction would be exposure to the exchange layer of Korean crypto rather than only to brokerage commissions tied to retail trading.

Increment by increment, South Korea’s crypto market is moving closer to regulated financial rails. Banks, conglomerate affiliates and now, reportedly, a broker are testing whether exchange equity can be a strategic asset. If Kiwoom follows through, Bithumb’s cap table would become another sign that the boundary between traditional finance and local crypto plumbing is narrowing.