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South Korean search engine behemoth Naver is acquiring Dunamu in a stock swap that values the country’s largest crypto exchange operator at 15.1 trillion won ($10.3 billion).
Naver said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday that its payment arm, Naver Financial, will exchange each of its shares for 2.54 Dunamu shares. The transaction, set to be completed in June 2026, values Naver Financial at 4.9 trillion won.
Dunamu was at one point valued at $17 billion during the crypto boom of 2021, when Hybe, which manages K-pop powerhouse BTS, acquired a 2.5% stake for about $400 million. As of September, Song Chi-hyung, cofounder and chairman of Dunamu, owns 8,896,400 shares, or 25.52%, in the Seoul-based company.
Naver’s acquisition of Dunamu is set to create a fintech heavyweight in South Korea that offers everything from payments, financial services like insurance, to blockchain services as well as crypto and securities trading. Naver Financial, which operates the country’s popular digital payment platform Naver Pay, said it has more than 34 million users and processes over 80 trillion won in transactions a year.
Dunamu runs Upbit, which is South Korea’s largest crypto exchange with $1.8 billion digital asset trades over the last 24-hour period, according to tracker Coingecko. The company also offers trading of both listed and unlisted stocks.
In a joint press conference at Naver’s headquarters in Seongnam on Wednesday, the companies said the deal aims to combine Naver’s AI infrastructure, Naver Pay’s services and Dunamu’s blockchain technology. Naver added that it will invest 10 trillion won over the next five years to expand South Korea’s AI and blockchain ecosystems. The country is trying to catch up with the U.S. and China in the global AI race with the government’s 10.1 trillion won investment plan for 2026. South Korea is one of the world’s most active hubs for retail crypto trading, with roughly one-fifth of its 52 million population holding such trading accounts.
“Naver’s AI capabilities must synergize with Web3 to secure leadership in next-generation markets,” said Lee Hae-jin, the billionaire cofounder and chairman of Naver. “To avoid falling behind global digital finance trends, Dunamu and Naver Financial need rapid decision-making and bold initiatives that global competitors have yet to attempt.”
Dunamu’s Song added that following the transaction, Naver Financial aims to “design next-generation financial infrastructure powered by AI and blockchain, creating a new global platform order that extends beyond payments to encompass finance and everyday services.”
The deal comes as global crypto sentiment has soured following a selloff that saw some $19 billion across leveraged positions evaporate in mid-October, triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s renewed tariff threats on Chinese imports. Until then, the crypto industry was having its best year, with bitcoin hitting a record-high of roughly $126,000 in early October amid a rally fueled by Trump’s advocacy for a more friendly regulatory environment for digital assets and increasing Wall Street adoption. Bitcoin has since then plunged more than 27% from its peak, wiping out all its gain this year.
