International crypto change OKX is in discussions to amass roughly a 20% stake in Coinone, one among South Korea’s 5 licensed crypto exchanges, in line with a Might 15 report by Yonhap Information Company — a transfer that may mark OKX’s most important strategic foothold in one among Asia’s most energetic digital asset markets.
Korea Investment & Securities, one among South Korea’s main brokerage companies, is reportedly pursuing a parallel 20% stake in Coinone beneath the identical framework, per the Yonhap report as cited by Bloomberg’s Bloomingbit. The two events are mentioned to be in energetic discussions, with no deal phrases formally confirmed.
Coinone’s largest shareholder is The One Group at 34.30%, adopted by gaming firm Com2uS Holdings at 21.95%, CEO Cha Myung-hoon at 19.14%, and Com2uS Plus at 16.47%, per the Bloomingbit report. Cha, who based Coinone, can be the most important shareholder of The One Group.
The Regulatory Opening Behind The Transfer
The reported discussions arrive at a exact second in South Korea’s quickly shifting crypto possession panorama. The nation’s Monetary Companies Fee (FSC) proposed in late December 2025 that main shareholders of home crypto exchanges be capped at 15–20% possession — a regulatory framework explicitly designed to convey securities companies and institutional asset managers into the change possession construction for the primary time.
That opening is now being acted on at velocity. Earlier offers in the identical wave embrace Mirae Asset Consulting’s roughly $96.7 million buy of a 92.06% stake in Korbit and Hana Monetary Group’s roughly $727 million acquisition of a 6.55% stake in Dunamu — the mother or father firm of Upbit, South Korea’s dominant change — per Bloomingbit’s market overview.
OKX’s Broader Enlargement Play
For OKX, the Coinone discussions match a sample of accelerating international institutional positioning. In March 2026, Intercontinental Exchange — the NYSE’s mother or father firm — invested roughly $200 million in OKX at a $25 billion valuation and secured a board seat, per Bloomberg’s reporting on the time. The deal included a dedication for OKX customers to finally acquire entry to tokenized NYSE-listed shares and derivatives.
A regulated stake in Coinone would prolong that institutional structure into South Korea — a market the place roughly 30% of the inhabitants, or roughly 15.5 million individuals, held digital belongings as of 2025, per trade knowledge.
For a world change that at the moment lacks Korean Received assist and operates within the nation and not using a home license, a minority stake in a licensed native venue represents a structurally totally different type of market entry than natural development alone may ship.
This growth marks a pivotal juncture for the nascent sector’s consolidation section in Asia. As South Korea’s regulatory framework actively reshapes who can personal its exchanges, international gamers with institutional backing are transferring shortly to safe positions earlier than the possession panorama settles — and OKX seems decided to not be left outdoors trying in.
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