Coinone secures strategic investments from Korea Investment Securities and OKX Ventures
What's the deal? South Korean crypto exchange Coinone has secured strategic investments from Korea Investment Securities and OKX Ventures, the investment arm of global crypto exchange OKX. Each investor will acquire a 20% stake in Coinone, making them joint third-largest shareholders behind chief executive Cha Myung-hoon (30.36%) and Com2uS Holdings (24.54%).
The deal was signed on May 29 at Coinone's headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. The investment combines secondary shares from existing shareholders and newly issued stock. Cha's position as controlling shareholder remains unchanged.
The four parties — Coinone, Korea Investment Securities, OKX Ventures, and Com2uS Holdings — plan to hold a joint press conference next month to detail their strategic plans.
Why now? South Korea's digital asset market is entering a new regulatory phase. Legislation around security token offerings (STOs) and stablecoins is gaining momentum, creating an opening for traditional finance players to move into crypto infrastructure.
Korea Investment Securities sees the deal as a gateway into blockchain-based financial products. It plans to combine its financial services expertise with Coinone's blockchain technology to develop tokenised securities and stablecoin-linked offerings. The brokerage will also share its internal controls and risk management frameworks with Coinone.
"This marks the first step beyond traditional finance into blockchain-based digital financial ventures," said Kim Sung-hwan, chief executive of Korea Investment Securities.
What could go wrong? The deal still requires regulatory approval. Coinone acknowledged it must complete a change-of-major-shareholder filing with South Korean financial authorities — a process that carries uncertainty. The exchange said it would prioritise compliance and communication with regulators.
Institutional appetite for crypto in Korea remains sensitive to regulatory shifts. Any delays in STO or stablecoin legislation could slow the partners' ambitions.
The signal: The pairing of a traditional brokerage and a global crypto exchange as equal-stake investors in a single domestic platform is unusual and underscores how tightly regulated markets like South Korea are being accessed through partnerships rather than direct entry. For Korea Investment Securities, a corporate investor making its first blockchain-adjacent move, the deal is a bet that upcoming STO and stablecoin legislation will open revenue streams that bridge conventional finance and digital assets. For OKX Ventures, it offers a compliant foothold in a market its own leadership calls "one of the most mature" globally — without the regulatory burden of launching independently.
Read more: edaily.co.kr
