South Korea's FSC reviews Hana Bank's $669 million Dunamu stake for regulatory violations

Hana Bank’s acquisition of a 6.55% stake in Dunamu has led South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) to investigate whether or not rules that bar financial institutions from investing in digital asset businesses have been breached. 

The Korean regulatory environment has become much stricter following a series of operational failures and compliance gaps at major exchanges. And now, Hana Bank’s deal to acquire stakes in Dunamu, the operator of the country’s largest crypto exchange, has set off alarm bells in enforcement quarters. 

Is Hana Bank’s crypto investment legal? 

Cryptopolitan reported over the weekend that Hana Bank announced plans to purchase Kakao Investment’s Dunamu holdings for roughly 1 trillion won ($669 million) and become Dunamu’s fourth-largest shareholder. 

However, back in 2017, the government issued emergency measures that prohibited financial companies and corporations from trading crypto assets. The ban was then expanded to cover any holding, purchase, collateral arrangement, or equity investment by regulated financial firms in the digital asset sector. 

Now, South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) is reviewing whether the transaction falls under those separation rules. 

An FSC official shared that even though Hana Bank’s purchase is structured as an acquisition of Kakao Investment’s position rather than directly buying Dunamu shares, the FSC still views the transaction as a crypto sector investment and is applying the same standard.

Other Korean financial groups, like Mirae Asset Group, for instance, completed its pending acquisition of the exchange operator Korbit through its consulting firm rather than its brokerage arm. 

Korea Investment Securities, which has been exploring a stake in Coinone alongside overseas exchange OKX, has also taken a cautious approach to the same rules.

How will Upbit deal with crashing revenue and regulatory pressure?

Cryptopolitan previously reported that Hana Bank’s investment in Dunamu arrived during a particularly rough period for the business. The company reported a first-quarter consolidated revenue of 234.6 billion won ($156 million), 55% lower than its revenue from a year earlier. 

The decline is driven almost entirely by reduced trading volumes on Upbit. Operating profit came in at 88 billion won ($60 million), down 78% year over year.

Upbit generates roughly 97% of Dunamu’s revenue from transaction fees, so whenever trading activity contracts, the company suffers. Client deposits also declined, falling 11% from December 2025 to approximately 5.199 trillion won ($3.4 billion) at the end of March.

Further complicating things, the government has confirmed a 22% tax on gains from digital asset sales and lending that will take effect on January 1, 2027. The tax applies to annual crypto gains exceeding 2.5 million Korean won (about $1,800).

The ruling Democratic Party is pushing for this tax to start as scheduled, while the opposition People Power Party wants to abolish the tax entirely. Dunamu and its latest stakeholder, Hana Bank will have an eye on how that issue is resolved, as most of its problems actually started because investors shifted to hot AI and tech stocks while profitability and tax obligations added up for crypto investors.

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