The acquisition could allow the group to integrate traditional investment services with digital asset trading.
South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has cleared Mirae Asset Consulting’s acquisition of Korbit, paving the way for the first takeover of a domestic won-based digital asset exchange by an affiliate of a major financial group.
Under the deal, Mirae Asset Consulting will acquire a 92% stake in Korbit for approximately 133.4 billion won ($88.5 billion).
The KFTC determined that the acquisition would not substantially reduce competition because of Korbit’s relatively small market position.
The exchange held just 0.5% of South Korea’s crypto trading volume last year. The regulator said Korbit’s limited scale and the market’s existing concentration mean the transaction is unlikely to create anti-competitive effects.
The deal is expected to strengthen the convergence of traditional finance and digital assets, opening the door for Mirae Asset to combine its brokerage and asset management businesses with a crypto trading service.
The regulator said the combination could eventually support new investment products, including digital asset-based exchange-traded funds, although Korbit would first need to improve its liquidity before gaining sufficient scale to influence competition.
