The Dunamu-Naver Financial merger, confirmed on November 26, 2025, sets a precise 1:2.5422618 stock exchange ratio, valuing Dunamu at approximately 14 trillion won ($10 billion) and Naver Financial at 5.5 trillion won, per KED Global. Dunamu shareholders receive 2.5422618 Naver Financial shares per Dunamu share, making Dunamu a wholly owned subsidiary, per FinanceFeeds. This structure positions Dunamu founder Song Chi-hyung as the largest shareholder with 19% in the combined entity, per. The merger, approved by boards on November 26, awaits shareholder votes and regulatory clearance from South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC), expected by early 2026, per BusinessKorea.
The deal merges Dunamu’s Upbit, Korea’s top crypto exchange with $2B daily volume, and Naver Financial’s Naver Pay, processing 80 trillion won ($58B) annually, creating a $20 trillion won fintech giant, per Bitget News. Key synergies include stablecoin integration for Korean won digital currency, super-app development, and cross-border payments, per MK. Upbit’s operations will gain Naver’s e-commerce ecosystem for seamless crypto-fiat conversions, per BitcoinEthereumNews. The merger aims to challenge global exchanges like Binance in Asia, with potential Nasdaq IPO post-integration, per BeInCrypto
Despite optimism, the merger faces hurdles: valuation disputes over the 1:2.5422618 ratio, with some brokerages suggesting 1:3 to 1:4, per The Korea Herald. Regulatory scrutiny from the Fair Trade Commission on market dominance and FSC on crypto compliance is expected, per. Dunamu’s recent $24.3M fine for KYC violations adds risk, per. Cultural integration and tech mergers could delay synergies, per.
The merger accelerates crypto adoption by blending Naver’s 50M+ users with Upbit’s 10M+ crypto traders, per. It positions the entity for won stablecoin launches, enhancing cross-border trade and DeFi, per. This could inspire similar consolidations, like KakaoPay-Bitcoin, per. Bitcoin (BTC) ($113,234) and Ethereum (ETH) ($4,070) remain stable, per CoinMarketCap, but the merger may drive Asian crypto inflows, per.
