Hong Kong-based Crypto.com acquires South Korean exchange OK-BIT

Hong Kong-based Crypto.com announced Monday it finalized the acquisition of a 100% stake in South Korea’s cryptocurrency exchange operator OK-BIT Co. 

This marks the first time an overseas crypto business has bought a South Korean exchange. 

Hit by the falling prices of digital assets, the value of crypto exchanges has plunged around the globe. 

The biggest names in the industry, such as Crypto.com, are taking advantage of the massively reduced corporate value of smaller platforms by purchasing them at home and abroad. 

The self-proclaimed world’s fastest-growing cryptocurrency platform revealed it applied for Electronic Financial Transaction Act and Virtual Asset Service Provider registration for OK-BIT with the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU).

“We are committed to working with regulators to continue to bring our products and services to market, particularly in countries like South Korea where consumers have shown strong interest in and adoption of digital currencies,” co-founder and CEO of Crypto.com Kris Marszalek said. 

There are 222 cryptocurrencies listed on Crypto.com. Its trading volume is about a fifth that of Upbit's.

Patrick Yoon, general manager of the company’s Korea operations said, “We believe our services will not only help evolve and empower commerce in Korea but also support the greater creation and development of our Web3 ecosystem.” 

Crypto.com also acquired payment service provider PnLink Co.

Based on Crypto.com’s partnership with Visa Card, some forecast the exchange to also push out payment products in South Korea. Others say that such a plan would take significant time to materialize.

For the acquisition of cryptocurrency exchanges, the acquiring companies are not obligated to declare a change in majority shareholder information to the South Korean authority. 

The Bahamas-based FTX Trading Ltd. is also widely thought to be in talks with Bithumb, Korea’s second-largest exchange, to acquire the latter.

Write to Jin-Woo Park at jwp@hankyung.com
Jee Abbey Lee edited this article.