OKX Ventures, the investment arm of cryptocurrency exchange OKX, will invest KRW80 billion ($53 million) for a 19.6% stake in South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Coinone, the companies announced Friday, marking one of the largest recent investments by a global cryptocurrency company in Korea’s digital assets sector.
Korea Investment & Securities (KIS), one of South Korea’s largest brokerages, will make an identical investment of KRW 80 billion and also hold a 19.6% stake upon completion of the transaction, which remains subject to regulatory approval.
The combined KRW160 billion ($106 million) deal will be structured through a combination of secondary purchases of shares from existing shareholders and subscriptions for newly issued shares, according to a company statement.
Following this investment, Coinone CEO Cha Myunghun is expected to remain the exchange’s largest shareholder with a 27.8% stake and retain management control. Com2uS Holdings and its affiliates will own 25%, while OKX Ventures and KIS will become the third common shareholder.
The deal formalizes discussions first reported by Yonhap earlier this month that OKX and KIS were considering acquiring about a 20% stake in Coinone.
