OKX Ventures buys $53 million stake in Korea's Coinone exchange

The crypto exchange's investment arm and Korea Investment & Securities will each invest KRW 80 billion ($53 million) as Coinone pushes into stablecoins and tokenized securities.

What to know:

• OKX Ventures and Korea Investment & Securities will each invest KRW 80 billion (about $53 million) for 19.6% stakes in South Korean crypto exchange Coinone, pending regulatory approval.
• The combined KRW 160 billion ($106 million) deal will involve both secondary share purchases and subscriptions for newly issued shares.
• After the transaction, CEO Cha Myunghun will remain Coinone’s largest shareholder with 27.8% and retain management control, while Com2uS Holdings and its affiliates will hold 25% and OKX Ventures and KIS will become joint third-largest shareholders.

OKX Ventures, the investment arm of crypto exchange OKX, will invest KRW 80 billion ($53 million) for a 19.6% stake in South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Coinone, the companies announced Friday, marking one of the largest recent investments by a global crypto firm into Korea's digital asset sector.

Korea Investment & Securities (KIS), one of South Korea's largest brokerages, will make an identical KRW 80 billion investment and also hold a 19.6% stake upon completion of the transaction, which remains subject to regulatory approval.

The combined KRW 160 billion ($106 million) deal will be structured through a mix of secondary share purchases from existing shareholders and subscriptions for newly issued shares, according to a company statement.

Following the investment, Coinone CEO Cha Myunghun is expected to remain the exchange's largest shareholder with a 27.8% stake and retain management control. Com2uS Holdings and its affiliates will hold 25%, while OKX Ventures and KIS will become joint third-largest shareholders.

The deal formalizes discussions first reported by Yonhap earlier this month, which said OKX and KIS were considering acquiring roughly 20% stakes in Coinone.

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