Park Han-sol reports on Korea's financial regulators, along with fintech and insurance. She previously wrote about the art world, from biennales and exhibitions to fairs and auctions, with a focus on Seoul and the figures shaping the scene. Before joining The Korea Times, she spent a year at ABC News' Seoul bureau, contributing to coverage of major Asia-Pacific events.
Mirae Asset sets $109 bil. target for digital asset business
Park Hyeon-joo, Mirae Asset Financial Group founder and chairman, speaks during an event for Digital X employees in Seoul, Wednesday, titled "A New Voyage Begins, Together." Courtesy of Digital X
By Park Han-sol
Mirae Asset Financial Group plans to build a 150 trillion won ($109 billion) digital asset business around Digital X, formerly known as Korbit, as it seeks to make crypto and blockchain-based finance a new growth engine, its founder said Thursday.
Park Hyeon-joo, the group’s founder and chairman, outlined the ambition at an event for Digital X employees in Seoul on Wednesday, titled “A New Voyage Begins, Together.”
Mirae Asset Consulting, a nonfinancial affiliate of the group, acquired a 97.15 percent stake in Korbit in July and subsequently renamed the cryptocurrency exchange Digital X.
The group aims to turn the digital asset business profitable by 2027 and is considering injecting up to 300 billion won in additional capital to expand its operations.
“Our initial goal is to make Digital X a core pillar of ‘Mirae Asset 3.0’ and grow the digital asset business to 150 trillion won by leveraging the group’s 1,500 trillion won in client assets,” Park said.
He indicated that the group could provide further capital as the business scales. Mirae Asset may pursue a 200 billion to 300 billion won third-party allotment in the first quarter of next year, depending on the pace of earnings improvement.
Digital X will focus on four areas: crypto, stablecoins, real-world assets and security token offerings. It is also set to tokenize physical assets including gold, silver and electricity, while building an “on-chain finance” ecosystem around blockchain technology.
The company plans to develop financial products and services using digital assets and make proprietary investments to strengthen its position in the market.
The longer-term goal is to build a global platform that brings traditional and digital assets under one roof, with Digital X at its center, Park said.