Will Hana Financial challenge Kbank for Upbit partnership?

Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo, right, poses with Dunamu Vice Chairman Kim Hyoung-nyon during a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony in Seoul, Friday. The agreement includes Hana Bank’s acquisition of a 6.5 percent stake in Dunamu. Courtesy of Hana Financial Group

Hana Financial Group’s recent investment in Dunamu, the operator of Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, has fueled speculation that Upbit’s six-year banking partnership with Kbank could face new competition, industry officials said Monday.

Hana Bank, a key affiliate of the financial group, recently purchased a 6.5 percent stake in Dunamu from Kakao Investment for about 1 trillion won ($647 million), becoming the company’s fourth-largest shareholder. The deal makes Hana Financial the first Korean financial holding company to take an ownership stake in a cryptocurrency exchange operator.

With Upbit’s partnership with Kbank for real-name deposit and withdrawal accounts set to expire in October, some industry observers believe Hana Financial may seek to secure the banking partnership, potentially reshaping the long-standing relationship between Upbit and Kbank.

“For banks, a real-name account partnership with a cryptocurrency exchange is a strategic business opportunity rather than a simple transactional relationship, given its impact on customer acquisition and deposits,” a financial industry official said. “It would be difficult for Hana Financial to ignore potential synergies arising from its stake in Dunamu.”

Since the introduction of the real-name system for cryptocurrency trading in 2018, individuals have been required to use bank-issued, real-name verified accounts to trade digital assets. Regulators limit each cryptocurrency exchange to a partnership with a single bank, leading exchanges to establish exclusive banking relationships.

Since 2020, Upbit has maintained its banking partnership with Kbank, helping the internet-only lender significantly expand its customer base and deposit volume.

However, the relationship has also raised concerns about concentration risk. Market watchers have long pointed out that Kbank could face a significant setback if its real-name account agreement with the cryptocurrency exchange is not renewed.

Acknowledging such concerns, Kbank has sought to reduce its reliance on Upbit. Nevertheless, deposits linked to the exchange totaled about 5.2 trillion won as of the end of the first quarter, accounting for 18.4 percent of the bank’s total deposits. Although the figure was down from 20.5 percent at the end of 2025, it still represents a sizable share of the bank’s deposit base.

Still, some observers say an immediate change in banking partners would be difficult, given Upbit’s large user base and the operational burden associated with transferring a vast number of customer accounts.

Reflecting that confidence, Kbank said during its first-quarter earnings call in April, “Our partnership with Upbit continues to strengthen. Given the many opportunities for future cooperation, we expect our contractual relationship to remain intact.”