On November 26, 2025, Naver Financial, the fintech arm of Naver Corp., officially confirmed its acquisition of Dunamu Inc., operator of Upbit, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, in an all-stock deal valued at approximately $13.6 billion (20 trillion KRW), per The Block and KED Global. The merger, approved by Naver Financial’s board, will make Dunamu a wholly-owned subsidiary through a share swap, with each Dunamu share exchanged for 2.54 Naver Financial shares, per Korea Herald. This creates Korea’s largest fintech entity, combining Naver’s AI, search, and commerce ecosystem with Dunamu’s blockchain and crypto trading infrastructure, per HODL FM.
The merged entity plans to invest 10 trillion KRW ($6.8–7 billion) over the next five years to develop next-generation financial infrastructure integrating AI and blockchain, per Chosun Ilbo via The Block nd Korea JoongAng Daily Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon described the timing as an “inflection point” where mainstream blockchain meets “agentic AI,” creating opportunities for tokenized finance and DeFi, per. Dunamu President Song Chi-hyung emphasised building a global framework for payments and settlements. Key initiatives include launching a KRW-pegged stablecoin on Dunamu’s GIWA Ethereum L2 blockchain, integrated with Naver Pay, per AInvest and Yahoo Finance.
The merger positions the combined company to challenge rivals like Kakao Pay and accelerate won-backed stablecoin development amid stalled national legislation. Tech Startups Upbit, holding over 80% of KoKorea’s crypto trading volume, will leverage Naver’s 34 million Naver Pay users and 80 trillion KRW annual transaction volume for seamless crypto-fiat integration. Analysts estimate a potential Nasdaq listing valuing the entity at $34.5–50 billion (50 trillion KRW), per Korea Herald and BeInCrypto. However, antitrust concerns from South Korean regulators may delay completion, per Altcoin Desk.
This deal, Korea’s fintech consolidation, could catalyse Asia’s digital asset market, fostering stablecoin innovation and DeFi adoption, per. It aligns with global trends like Circle’s GTR membership for USDC compliance, per. Bitcoin (BTC) ($113,234) and Ethereum (ETH) ($4,070) remain stable, per CoinMarketCap, but the merger may boost KRW stablecoin TVL to $10B by 2026, per. Investors should monitor Financial Services Commission approvals via fsc.go.kr and diversify into USDC or ETH with stop-losses below BTC’s $112,000, per TradingView. Follow @TheBlock__ on X for updates. Naver-Dunamu could redefine AI-blockchain finance, but regulatory hurdles loom.
