Kiwoom Securities is seeking a stake in Bithumb, placing one of South Korea’s major retail brokerages closer to the country’s second-largest crypto exchange as traditional finance firms prepa
Kiwoom Securities is seeking a stake in Bithumb, placing one of South Korea’s major retail brokerages closer to the country’s second-largest crypto exchange as traditional finance firms prepare for a more institutional digital-asset market.
The two sides are discussing a third-party allotment of new shares. Under that structure, Bithumb would issue fresh shares and Kiwoom would acquire them directly, giving the brokerage an equity position without buying existing shares from current holders.
The exact investment size and final stake have not been fixed. The talks remain at the negotiation stage, which means the transaction could still change before any final agreement is signed.
Bithumb remains one of South Korea’s two dominant crypto exchanges alongside Upbit. The country’s won-based market is unusually active by global standards, with South Korea driving roughly 30% of global spot crypto trading during a period of heavy retail participation and altcoin rotation.
Kiwoom’s interest comes as Korean securities firms move toward digital assets before planned rule changes around security token offerings, stablecoins and institutional crypto access.
South Korea has been preparing a broader digital-asset framework that includes stablecoin legislation, spot crypto ETFs and blockchain-based public-finance pilots. Planned stablecoin laws and ETF access would give securities firms clearer routes into products that were previously limited by regulatory uncertainty.
Security token offerings are another key part of that transition. Brokerages already have client accounts, compliance systems, capital-markets licenses and retail trading infrastructure, which makes exchange equity a strategic way to gain exposure before tokenized securities and regulated digital-asset products become larger revenue lines.
The Bithumb talks also follow a wider banking and capital-markets push into tokenization. KB Kookmin Bank’s digital dollar bond showed how Korean banks are moving blockchain infrastructure beyond exchange trading and into regulated financial-market products.
The proposed investment is landing at the same time lawmakers and regulators are discussing tighter ownership rules for crypto exchanges. The current policy direction would cap major shareholder stakes at 20% in principle, with exceptions allowing up to 34% under certain conditions.
That would directly affect Bithumb’s ownership structure. Bithumb Holdings currently owns 73.56% of Bithumb, far above either threshold. If the proposed rules take effect, the holding company would need to reduce its stake by more than 50 percentage points under the standard cap.
The proposed crypto exchange ownership caps would also affect control structures at Upbit, Coinone and Korbit, making Bithumb’s search for new strategic investors part of a wider market restructuring.
A Kiwoom investment through new shares could help Bithumb diversify its shareholder base while bringing in a regulated financial-services partner. It would also position Kiwoom before securities firms gain clearer access to tokenized securities, stablecoin-linked products and regulated crypto infrastructure.
No final terms have been announced. Kiwoom and Bithumb are still discussing the investment size and stake percentage, while South Korea’s digital-asset legislation continues to move toward ownership limits, stablecoin rules and STO institutionalization.
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