Coinone Secures $106M Investment from OKX Ventures and Korea Investment & Securities for 19.6% Equity
In a strategic $106 million deal, OKX Ventures and Korea Investment & Securities are each contributing $53 million to acquire a combined 19.6% ownership in Coinone, strengthening the connection between conventional finance and cryptocurrency in South Korea's strictly regulated environment.
Coinone, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, announced that OKX Ventures and Korea Investment & Securities (KIS) have committed to a joint investment of 160 billion won ($106 million) to acquire a 19.6% ownership stake in the trading platform.
Subject to receiving regulatory clearance, this capital injection would position KIS and OKX Ventures as the third-largest shareholders collectively in Coinone, trailing CEO Myung-Hun Cha and current investor Com2uS Holdings, as detailed in a statement provided to Cointelegraph.
The deal structure includes a combination of secondary share acquisitions from current stakeholders alongside the issuance of new shares, with Cha anticipated to maintain his position as Coinone's majority shareholder while continuing to hold management authority.
For OKX Ventures, the transaction would provide entry into one of Asia's most stringently regulated cryptocurrency environments, where obtaining local licenses and maintaining compliance documentation are essential requirements.
The announcement made on Friday validated earlier speculation from this month suggesting that OKX was engaged in negotiations with KIS to obtain approximately a 20% ownership position in Coinone as part of an expansive initiative to enter South Korea's licensed cryptocurrency marketplace, which OKX had previously declined to address publicly.
According to the statement, OKX emphasized that the collaboration demonstrates its commitment to "compliant, well-regulated infrastructure," whereas KIS indicated its intention to collaborate with Coinone on developing security token offerings and stablecoin operations as South Korea progresses with regulatory frameworks for tokenized finance.
South Korea's crypto shake-up
This investment arrives during a period when South Korea is restructuring its cryptocurrency industry through enhanced regulatory oversight and increased institutional involvement.
Following the implementation of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act in 2024, cryptocurrency platforms such as Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit have encountered more stringent anti-money laundering protocols and transaction surveillance obligations, while regulatory authorities are developing a secondary phase of legislation that will address stablecoins and tokenized securities.
The Seoul government has additionally taken steps to progressively facilitate greater institutional and corporate involvement in digital assets, establishing fresh opportunities for conventional financial institutions to enter the regulated cryptocurrency industry.
During February, Mirae Asset Consulting reached an agreement to purchase a 92.06% ownership interest in Korbit for 133.48 billion won (approximately $93 million), essentially assuming operational control of the smaller trading platform as a component of its comprehensive digital asset approach.
Earlier this month, Hana Financial Group announced its intention to allocate approximately 1.003 trillion won ($668 million) toward acquiring a 6.55% equity stake in Dunamu, the operating company behind Upbit, which ranks among the nation's most prominent cryptocurrency exchanges.