OKX Reportedly in Talks to Buy 20% of South Korea’s Coinone Alongside Korea Investment & Securities

Report: OKX and Korea Investment & Securities eye Coinone stake

OKX is moving forward with plans to invest in South Korea’s cryptocurrency exchange Coinone, in a deal that would bring another major global platform deeper into the country’s tightly regulated digital asset market.

According to a Friday report from Yonhap News Agency, OKX and Korea Investment & Securities Co. are each seeking to acquire an approximately 20% stake in Coinone. The report indicates the transaction would likely be structured through new share issuance by Coinone rather than the sale of existing shares.

Yonhap also said the investment is unlikely to change Coinone’s management, even if the deal proceeds.

Potential second major foreign exchange stake in South Korea

If approved, the transaction would make OKX the second global crypto exchange to hold a major ownership position in a South Korean digital asset platform, following Binance’s acquisition of Gopax.

Coinone is one of South Korea’s five crypto exchanges authorized to provide fiat-to-crypto trading services. Despite that limited roster, the domestic market is currently led by Upbit and Bithumb, which dominate trading activity.

The Block said it contacted OKX for comment regarding the reported plans.

A wave of big-ticket investments hits South Korea’s crypto sector

OKX’s reported interest in Coinone arrives amid a series of notable ownership and investment developments across South Korea’s digital asset industry.

On the same day as Yonhap’s report, local banking group Hana officially announced it will acquire a $670 million stake in Dunamu, the parent company of Upbit.

Separately, in February, South Korean financial conglomerate Mirae Asset announced it was acquiring a 92% stake in Korbit, another exchange in the country’s top five.

These moves reflect continued consolidation and strategic capital deployment in a market where exchange licenses and compliance capabilities are crucial competitive advantages.

Ownership limits under discussion in the Digital Asset Basic Act

South Korean authorities are also discussing measures that could reshape how much control any single party can hold in a crypto exchange.

Local reports cited in the article say regulators are considering a 34% ownership cap for corporates and a 20% cap for individuals as part of the upcoming Digital Asset Basic Act.

Any such limits could have material implications for exchange governance and future M&A structures, including minority stake investments and consortium-style ownership arrangements.

Coinone’s current shareholder structure

Yonhap detailed Coinone’s existing ownership, highlighting several significant shareholders:

The One Group is Coinone’s largest shareholder with a 34.3% stake. Coinone founder Cha Myung-hoon holds 19.14% of Coinone and is also the largest shareholder of The One Group, according to the report.

In addition, local gaming company Com2uS Holdings holds a 21.95% stake in Coinone, while its affiliated investment firm Com2uS Plus owns 16.47%.

Disclosure

The original report also included a disclosure statement noting that The Block is an independent media outlet providing news, research, and data. It stated that as of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block and that Foresight Ventures invests in other crypto companies, with crypto exchange Bitget serving as an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The statement added that The Block continues to operate independently.