Korbit Rebrands as Digital X, Faces Upbit and Bithumb…

Mirae Asset Group is renaming South Korean crypto exchange Korbit to Digital X after finalising a deal that gives the financial conglomerate control of more than 97% of the platform. The name change was disclosed by Mirae Asset founder and global strategy officer Park Hyeon-joo in an internal message to employees, describing Digital X as a cornerstone of the group's 'Mirae Asset 3.0' strategy — an initiative to bridge its traditional finance businesses with digital assets.

Mirae Asset Consulting completed the acquisition of a 91.73% stake in Korbit and is scheduled to purchase an additional 5.42%, raising total ownership to 97.15%. The combined investment is valued at approximately 141.4 billion won, or roughly $102 million. Major sellers included NXC, the holding company of gaming group Nexon, and SK Square, which were Korbit's two largest shareholders. South Korea's Fair Trade Commission cleared the deal in July.

Korbit, founded in 2013, is the country's longest-operating domestic crypto exchange and one of only five platforms authorised to offer won-denominated markets — alongside Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and Gopax. Its current trading share is small compared with Upbit and Bithumb, which dominate South Korea's crypto trading activity. Mirae Asset is essentially acquiring regulated infrastructure and market access rather than a dominant retail business.

Park said Digital X will expand beyond conventional crypto trading into real-world asset tokenisation, security token offerings (STOs), stablecoins, and products linked to traditional financial assets. The move builds on earlier digital-asset initiatives by Mirae Asset, including the issuance of digital bonds in Hong Kong and obtaining approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to offer digital-asset services to retail clients.

South Korea is advancing legislation to create a legal framework for issuing and trading tokenised securities, with rules expected to take effect in January 2027. Stablecoin regulation remains under separate development, including debates on whether won-denominated stablecoins should be limited to banks or opened to securities firms and technology companies. Park emphasised that Digital X will focus on anti-money laundering controls, customer verification, and information security while the regulatory framework develops.

The rebranding comes at a challenging time for smaller Korean exchanges, as trading volumes across the five won-based platforms have declined from earlier peaks, and Korbit, Coinone and Gopax have struggled with weaker volumes and ongoing losses. For Mirae Asset, the deal's value depends less on reviving Korbit's existing market share and more on converting its license, technology, and customer base into a platform for regulated tokenised finance once South Korean rules allow.