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Coinone, one of South Korea's leading virtual asset exchanges, has signed strategic equity investment agreements with OKX Ventures and Korea Investment & Securities (KIS), the brokerage arm of the Com2uS Holdings group, each investing KRW80 billion (approximately $53 million) for a 19.6% stake, the companies said in a statement today.
The two investors will become joint third-largest shareholders in Coinone upon regulatory approval, sitting behind CEO Cha Myung-hun (27.8%) and Com2uS Holdings and its affiliates (25.0%). The deal is structured through a mix of secondary share purchases from existing shareholders and newly issued shares. Cha is expected to remain Coinone's largest shareholder with no change to his management control.
The investment brings together two distinct strategic angles. KIS intends to pursue Security Token Offering (STO) and stablecoin businesses with Coinone, citing momentum from South Korea's evolving digital asset legislation. The two organisations also plan to collaborate on compliance infrastructure – specifically AML and suspicious transaction detection – and to develop products targeting the institutional and derivatives markets.
OKX Ventures, the investment arm of OKX, brings a different kind of value. Coinone expects to draw on OKX's global operational playbook, including user protection frameworks, security practices, and risk management standards. OKX Global Markets Vice President Netero Dai described South Korea as "one of the world's most sophisticated digital asset markets" and said the investment reflects the firm's conviction that "the future of finance will be built on compliant, well-regulated infrastructure."
South Korea's virtual asset market has been among the most active in Asia, driven by high retail participation and a regulatory framework – anchored by the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, which took effect in 2024 – that has drawn comparisons to more established financial markets. Coinone is a registered virtual asset service provider under that framework, and the deal's emphasis on compliance signals that both investors see regulatory credibility as a competitive asset rather than a cost.
Coinone CEO Cha Myung-hun said the company selected partners "who can maximize synergies with Coinone" and that the investment would position the exchange "in the new arena of blockchain-based digital financial infrastructure."
Coinone, OKX, KIS, and Com2uS Holdings plan to hold a joint press conference in June to elaborate on the deal's objectives and expected outcomes. The investments remain subject to regulatory approval, including acceptance of the major shareholder change report by South Korean financial authorities.
