FinanceShareShare this articleCopy linkX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmailSamsung Subsidiaries to Acquire $408 Million Stake in Leading South Korean Crypto Exchange

Samsung Securities is poised to acquire a 2% stake in Dunamu, valued at over $200 million, from Kakao's affiliates.

By Jamie Crawley|Edited by Sheldon Reback May 28, 2026, 10:55 a.m. 2 min readMake preferred on

Samsung (Shutterstock)

Key Details:

  • Three subsidiaries of Samsung have agreed to purchase a combined 4% stake in Dunamu, which operates South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit, from Kakao.
  • The total value of the transaction is $408 million, indicating that Kakao has divested approximately $1.5 billion in Dunamu equity within a month.
  • Samsung, as South Korea's largest corporation, has been engaged in the cryptocurrency sector since launching its digital asset wallet in 2019.

Three subsidiaries of Samsung have reached an agreement to acquire a 4% stake in Dunamu, which manages the largest cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, Upbit, for a total of 612.8 billion won ($408 million), the Korea Herald reported.

As part of this deal, Samsung Securities will secure a 2% stake in Dunamu through a cash transaction of 306 billion won from Kakao's affiliates. Additionally, credit card company Samsung Card and IT subsidiary Samsung SDS will each take a 1% stake, as reported by the Korea Herald.

This acquisition, set to finalize on June 19, will result in Kakao having sold around $1.5 billion worth of Dunamu equity in less than a month. Earlier, it divested a 6.55% stake for about 1 trillion won to Hana Bank, a financial institution based in Seoul, followed by a 600 billion won stake sold to Hanwha Investment and Securities.

Kakao has increasingly integrated artificial intelligence into its business strategy through its "Kanana" AI models and collaborations with OpenAI. Amid a prolonged downturn in the cryptocurrency market, AI has taken precedence over crypto in the investment strategies of many leading companies.

Samsung has been a significant player in the cryptocurrency space for several years, having launched its digital asset wallet in 2019.

Following the news, shares of Samsung Securities fell by 2.7%, while Samsung SDS dropped 5%. Conversely, Samsung Card saw a slight increase of 0.21%. Kakao's shares also declined by 1%.

By the time of publication, the companies had not responded to a CoinDesk inquiry for comments.

South Koreamergers and acquisitions