Naver’s $14.5b power play puts Upbit on IPO path: report
Upbit, the trading platform that routinely eats up more than 70% of South Korea’s crypto volume, is inching toward a future Nasdaq debut thanks to a corporate tie-up involving tech titan Naver.
Summary
- South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit, is moving closer to a potential listing on Nasdaq.
- Reports confirmed that Naver is preparing to acquire Upbit’s parent company, Dunamu, through a multibillion-dollar stock-swap merger.
- The deal, expected to receive board approval on November 26, would mark one of the most significant corporate consolidations in Asia’s digital finance sector.
A multibillion-dollar stock-swap merger between Naver Financial and Dunamu, Upbit’s parent company, is reportedly set for board approval on November 26. SE Daily first broke the story.
The KRW 20 trillion ($14.5 billion) deal would make Upbit a wholly owned Naver subsidiary and potentially set the stage for a U.S. listing, echoing a wave of crypto firms rushing into public markets.
With Dunamu’s profits dwarfing Naver’s and minority shareholders pushing for a higher valuation, the revised exchange ratio underscores just how central Upbit has become to Korea’s financial infrastructure.
The two companies agreed to raise the exchange ratio to roughly 1:3.3–3.4 in favor of Dunamu, following minority shareholders’ complaints that earlier proposals undervalued the Upbit operator.
Dunamu posted KRW 1.186 trillion in operating profit at the end of 2024—nearly 10 times Naver Financial’s 103.5 billion won. It boasts $165 million net income in the third quarter of 2025, up 300% year-over-year.
Why it matters
A merger would give Naver control over more than 70% of South Korea’s crypto trading volume. Upbit’s dominance has remained unshaken through 2024 and 2025, touching 80% in some months.
Data from the Financial Supervisory Service showed the exchange processed 833 trillion won ($642 billion) in transactions in the first half of 2025 alone.
The merger also comes as crypto companies rush to capitalize on resurgent public-market interest.
Galaxy Digital shifted its listing to Nasdaq earlier this year, and Kraken confidentially filed an S-1 for a planned 2026 offering. Circle, Gemini, Bullish, and Figure have already listed in New York, while Grayscale announced on November 12 that it plans to go public under the ticker “GRAY.”
Upbit rival Bithumb has spun off non-core divisions and tapped Samsung Securities to lead its upcoming KOSDAQ listing, while also weighing a possible dual listing on Nasdaq.
Still, the public markets aren’t for everyone. Phantom Wallet’s CEO has confirmed the company has no plans to launch a native blockchain or go public, underscoring that market exits are not one-size-fits-all even as investor appetite grows.
