Korea Investment & Securities has moved to gain an early foothold in the digital asset market, emphasizing that its equity investment in cryptocurrency exchange Coinone is a strategic investment (SI) rather than a simple financial investment (FI).
"This investment is not an FI aimed simply at acquiring equity, but participation as a strategic investor," Kim Sung-hwan, CEO of Korea Investment & Securities, said Tuesday at a joint press conference held by Coinone, Korea Investment & Securities, OKX and Com2uS Holdings at Coinone's headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. "It is a decision made to serve as a hub connecting institutional finance and the cryptocurrency market going forward."
Kim forecast that the trend of converting traditional financial assets such as bonds and funds into digital assets will accelerate in earnest. "The legislation of digital assets, including security token offerings (STO) and stablecoins, will proceed faster than expected," he explained. "We made the investment decision to gain an early lead in serving as a hub linking institutional finance and the cryptocurrency market."
Coinone's security and compliance capabilities were cited as the reason Korea Investment & Securities chose it over Upbit or Bithumb. "Coinone is an exchange that has not had a single incident since its founding," Kim said. "When the capabilities of traditional finance combine with Coinone's blockchain technology, we will be able to open a new financial paradigm."
Through the investment, Korea Investment & Securities and global cryptocurrency exchange OKX each secured a 20% stake in Coinone, newly joining its shareholder structure. Under the ownership structure, Coinone CEO Cha Myung-hoon retains the position of largest shareholder with 30.36%, Com2uS Holdings holds 24.54%, and Korea Investment & Securities and OKX each hold 20%. The two firms become joint third-largest shareholders of Coinone through the investment.
Cha said, "This investment is not a simple equity investment but the establishment of a foundation for the digital asset industry to take root as an institutional industry. Coinone will leap forward as a blockchain-based comprehensive financial company."
Star Xu, CEO of OKX, said, "Korea is one of the most mature digital asset markets in the world. We will provide OKX's technology and compliance capabilities to Coinone to build a long-term partnership." Com2uS Holdings also plans to participate as an existing shareholder and support cooperation utilizing content, artificial intelligence (AI) technology and global information technology (IT) infrastructure.
