South Korean brokerage Kiwoom Securities is reportedly in talks to buy a stake in Bithumb, making it the latest traditional financial firm in the country to seek exposure to a local crypto exchange.
The two companies are reportedly discussing a third-party allotment of new shares that would allow Kiwoom Securities to acquire new shares issued by Bithumb, Chosun Biz reported on Monday.
Cointelegraph contacted Kiwoom Securities and Bithumb for comment on the reported talks.
The development makes Kiwoom Securities the latest traditional finance (TradFi) company to seek entry into the crypto markets as South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) prepares to announce new regulatory reforms in July, including a framework for tokenized securities, as the country prepares to bring them under its capital markets framework from 2027.
The developments are part of the amended Capital Markets Act and Electronic Securities Act, the country’s first tokenized securities framework, scheduled to take full effect on Feb. 4, 2027.
On Wednesday, the FSC folded token securities infrastructure into a broader overhaul of the country’s capital markets, as part of its efforts to modernize traditional financial markets and potentially bring blockchain-based investment products closer to systems used for mainstream securities settlement and trading.
Top five cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea by daily trading volume. Source: CoinGecko
Bithumb is one of South Korea’s largest crypto exchanges by daily volume, CoinGecko data shows.
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Korean brokerages target crypto exchanges
The reported Kiwoom talks come after several major South Korean financial firms moved to buy stakes in local crypto exchanges and exchange operators.
On May 29, Korea Investment & Securities (KIS) and OKX Ventures agreed to invest a combined 160 billion won ($106 million) to buy a 19.6% stake in South Korean crypto exchange Coinone.
A day earlier, Samsung Securities, Samsung SDS and Samsung Card acquired a combined 4% stake in Dunamu, the operator of South Korean crypto exchange Upbit, for 612.8 billion won ($408 million), Cointelegraph reported on May 28.
On May 15, Hana Financial Group said it would acquire a 6.55% stake in Dunamu from Kakao Investment for more than $668 million, making it the Upbit operator’s fourth-largest shareholder.
In February, Mirae Asset Consulting agreed to acquire a 92.06% stake in Korbit for 133.48 billion won (about $93 million), taking control of the majority of the exchange as part of its digital asset push.
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