Samsung Units Join Dunamu Buying Rush With $408M Upbit Stake Deal

TLDR

• Samsung units buy a 4% Dunamu stake in a $408M Upbit-linked deal

• Dunamu draws Samsung, Hana, and Hanwha into Korea’s crypto deal wave

  

• Samsung joins Korea’s crypto rush with a major Upbit parent stake

• Samsung’s Dunamu deal adds momentum to Korea’s digital asset shift

• Upbit parent Dunamu gains Samsung backing in Korea’s crypto expansion

Samsung has joined South Korea’s latest crypto deal rush with a $408 million Dunamu stake purchase. The transaction gives three Samsung affiliates combined exposure to Upbit’s parent company. It also deepens major financial group activity around Korea’s fast-changing digital asset sector.

Samsung Units Take 4% Dunamu Stake

Samsung Securities, Samsung SDS, and Samsung Card will acquire 1.39 million Dunamu shares from Kakao Investment. The deal carries a total value of 612.8 billion won, or about $408 million. Samsung Securities will take 2%, while Samsung SDS and Samsung Card will each hold 1%.

Dunamu operates Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange by local market share. The platform handled about two-thirds of the country’s spot crypto trading volume last year. Therefore, the deal places Samsung closer to one of Asia’s most active digital asset venues.

The transaction also links Samsung units to several planned crypto and technology services. Samsung Securities will focus on tokenized securities and digital asset services with Dunamu. Meanwhile, Samsung SDS and Samsung Card will explore blockchain operations, payments, AI, cloud, security, and data systems.

Dunamu Buying Wave Gathers Pace

The Samsung deal follows other large purchases by Korean financial groups in May. Hana Bank agreed on May 15 to buy a 6.55% Dunamu stake for about 1 trillion won. Hanwha Investment Securities later lifted its holding to 9.84% through a 597.8 billion won transaction.

Together, these deals moved nearly 14% of Dunamu shares to major Korean groups in under two weeks. The combined disclosed value of the buying wave exceeded 2.2 trillion won. Hence, the activity shows growing corporate demand for exposure to Korea’s regulated crypto infrastructure.

Dunamu also remains involved in a separate merger process with Naver Financial. That process could expand its role across financial apps, payments, and digital asset services. Moreover, Upbit’s scale gives any future structure wider relevance across Korea’s crypto market.

Korea’s Crypto Framework Drives Strategic Moves

South Korea’s crypto sector has long relied on active retail trading and local exchange liquidity. Large banks, brokers and technology groups previously moved carefully because rules remained unclear. Samsung and other groups are positioning before a broader regulatory framework takes shape.

Lawmakers and authorities are preparing the Digital Asset Basic Act for the local market. The framework covers stablecoins, tokenized securities and digital asset service rules. Major groups are moving into crypto platforms, payment systems, and blockchain infrastructure before formal rules mature.

Mirae Asset also announced plans in February to buy a 92% stake in Korbit. KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan, and others continue running stablecoin and tokenization projects. Samsung’s Dunamu deal fits a wider shift toward institutional crypto participation in South Korea.

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