South Korean Tech Giant Naver Weighs Move To Acquire Upbit Operator Dunamu

South Korea’s Naver is said to be moving close to a landmark deal that would give the internet giant control over Upbit, the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, according to local ￰0￱ Financial, the company’s fintech arm, is in advanced talks with Upbit operator Dunamu, to carry out a comprehensive stock ￰1￱ this plan, the structure would see Naver issue new shares to acquire stakes from Dunamu’s existing ￰2￱ sides are now finalizing the swap ratio for the unlisted stock, Chosun Daily reported ￰3￱ practice, a stock swap allows two companies to exchange shares instead of cash, creating a parent-subsidiary type governance structure. Ultimately, the move is seen as a way for Naver to cement its entry into digital finance and crypto ￰4￱ Financial, the fintech arm of South Korea’s largest portal Naver, has agreed to a share-swap deal with Dunamu, operator of ￰5￱ move effectively gives Naver control of Korea’s No.1 crypto exchange and marks its entry into the digital finance and won-pegged stablecoin… — Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) September 25, 2025 Overseas Expansion Plans Add Global Dimension To Merger Talks Naver Financial processes annual payment volumes worth 80 trillion Korean won ($58b).

In contrast, pairing that scale with Dunamu’s Upbit platform, ranked the No. 1 exchange in Korea and No. 4 globally, could create one of the strongest alliances yet between South Korea’s tech and crypto sectors. Already, the two companies work together on a won-pegged stablecoin initiative and plan to use the deal as a springboard for overseas ￰6￱ move is seen as a stepping stone for Naver to become a global fintech ￰7￱ successful, the tie-up would reshape the financial services landscape in South Korea. Currently, Naver Pay is one of the country’s most widely used digital wallets, competing with Kakao Pay, Toss and established ￰8￱ Upbit’s crypto dominance added, Naver could link payments, shopping, finance and digital assets under one ￰9￱ Share Battle Intensifies As Naver Weighs Deal The timing of the news is ￰10￱ Blockchain Week is underway in Seoul, drawing global attention to the nation’s fast-growing crypto ￰11￱ the same time, earlier this week, Upbit’s rival Bithumb struck a partnership with World Liberty Financial , a crypto venture linked to US President Donald ￰12￱ years, Upbit has enjoyed a dominant position in South Korea, holding above 80% of market share in some months since ￰13￱ dominance has triggered criticism from lawmakers , who argue that Dunamu’s grip on the exchange market risks creating a ￰14￱ recently, market dynamics have ￰15￱ Sept. 9, Bithumb’s domestic share climbed to 46%.

Upbit held 50.6%. As a result, competition has ￰16￱ raises the stakes for Naver as it seeks control of ￰17￱ ahead, a deeper alliance between Naver and Dunamu would stand ￰18￱ completed, it would rank among the most significant M&A deals in South Korea’s fintech space.