Global coin companies are tapping the Korean market. Crypto Dotcom recently completed its first step toward entering Korea by acquiring all of its shares in the domestic coin exchange OKBIT. FTX is also seeking to acquire Bithumb, a large domestic coin exchange, and overseas exchanges are buying domestic exchanges to expand the market.

According to the virtual asset industry on the 21st, CRO, a global virtual asset trading platform, announced on the 8th that it has acquired OK-BIT, a domestic virtual asset exchange, and P&Link, a fintech company.


At the Korea Blockchain Week 2022 (KBW 2022) held in Seoul from the 8th to the 9th, CEO Chris Mazalek announced the news, saying, “Korea is a country with high interest in virtual assets in major markets,” adding, “We will continue to cooperate with regulators to launch products and services in Korea.”

Okbit, acquired by Crypto Dotcom, is a domestic coin market exchange that reported as a virtual asset trader at the end of December last year and completed the official registration process. Crypto Dotcom automatically acquired business licenses at the same time as it acquired the company. Since there are no requirements for shareholders under the Specific Financial Transaction Information Act (Special Act), a separate report to financial authorities is not necessary. Crypto Dotcom has selected representatives and major executives as foreigners and has reported the change to the Financial Information Analysis Institute (FIU) under the Financial Services Commission.

Crypto Dotcom is also drawing a blueprint for developing a payment business using virtual assets in Korea through exchange business and PG company.

Recently, Bloomberg reported on the 22nd (local time) that FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange led by 30-year-old U.S. billionaire Sam Bankman-Freed, is seeking to acquire Bithumb, a Korean coin exchange.

Bident, Bithumb’s largest shareholder, recently announced the move of FTX, the world’s second-largest virtual asset exchange, that it had contacted FTX to dispose of Bithumb Korea and Bithumb Holdings’ investment securities.

As such, there are several factors that overseas exchanges choose the Korean market as a market for market expansion. First of all, the domestic coin market has a high interest in virtual assets compared to the number of people, and the transaction volume is high accordingly. According to the ranking of Coin Market Cap exchanges on the previous day, all three exchanges (Bissom, Upbit, and Coinone) are ranked in the top 25 in terms of domestic market share, standing shoulder to shoulder with famous overseas exchanges.