Naver Financial officially confirms merger with Upbit crypto exchange

Naver Financial, the fintech subsidiary of South Korean IT giant Naver, officially confirmed the merger with Dunamu, the operating company behind South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit.

According to the DART electronic disclosure system under the Financial Supervisory Service, Naver Financial disclosed Wednesday that it will integrate Dunamu as its wholly-owned subsidiary to "secure future growth momentum based on digital assets."

As previously reported, the merger will take place through a stock-swap transaction. The disclosure shows that the exchange ratio is 2.5422618 shares of Naver Financial for every one share of Dunamu. The effective date of the stock exchange is set for June 30, 2026.

To facilitate this transaction, Naver Financial plans to issue 87.56 million new shares, worth approximately 15.13 trillion won ($10.28 billion). A share of Naver Financial was priced at 172,780 won ($117.47).

Naver Financial and Dunamu plan to expand their functional and strategic cooperation through the merger, while changes in corporate structure to accommodate Dunamu as a new subsidiary have not been planned out in detail. Earlier this week, local media reported that Upbit will pursue an initial public offering on the Nasdaq following the merger deal, although it has not been confirmed by the company.

The merger between the the two conglomerates represents both Naver and Upbit's joint ambition to dominate the country's growing digital asset and fintech landscape, as South Korean leaders are working to establish the country as a hub for digital finance.

Naver, established in 1999, built its internet and fintech empire based on one of the earliest and most-used search engines in South Korea. Naver reported a revenue of 3.14 trillion Korean won ($2.32 billion) and an operating profit of 570.6 billion won ($422.67 million) in the third quarter.

Dunamu reported a 35% quarter-over-quarter revenue growth, reporting 385.9 billion won ($262.87 million) in the third quarter, while its net profit rose 145% during the same period, reaching 239 billion won ($162.80 million).