The move comes as South Korea's won-based crypto market contracts. Combined trading volume across the five major exchanges fell 54.6% year-over-year in the first half of 2026 to $366.58 billion, with July volume down a further 16.9% from June. Upbit has extended its lead to 67.4% market share, while Korbit's share sits near 0.5% to 0.8%. The Fair Trade Commission cited that minimal footprint when it ruled the acquisition unlikely to restrict competition.
Meanwhile, Korean investors continue moving capital offshore. Net stablecoin outflows from domestic exchanges reached 560.3 billion won in June, roughly 78% of net overseas stock purchases, as users seek derivatives, real-world asset tokens, and DeFi services unavailable locally. Foreign exchanges including Coinbase, Bitget, and Bybit are reportedly eyeing acquisitions of smaller Korean coin-market operators as a regulatory entry route.
For Mirae Asset, the $36 million follow-on investment signals a commitment to building beyond Korbit's current scale. The question is whether Digital X can leverage the group's brokerage, asset management, and distribution infrastructure to create a differentiated platform before the STO framework launches in February — and whether that platform can reverse the liquidity drain that has concentrated volume in a single dominant exchange.
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