Mirae Asset Sets a $109B Digital Asset Goal
Mirae Asset has set a target of 150 trillion won — approximately $109 billion — for a digital asset business spanning cryptocurrency, stablecoins, real-world assets, and tokenized securities. The plan makes Digital X, the exchange formerly known as Korbit, the central pillar of the financial group’s next growth strategy.
The Korea Times reported the target after Mirae Asset founder and chairman Park Hyeon-joo presented the strategy to Digital X employees at an event in Seoul on Wednesday.
Four Pillars of the Strategy
Under the plan, Mirae Asset will build its digital asset operations around four areas:
- Cryptocurrency
- Stablecoins
- Real-world assets
- Security token offerings
The group also intends to digitize physical and financial assets, with gold, silver, and electricity among the examples identified by the company. Mirae Asset is using its 1,500 trillion won in client assets as the foundation for a digital asset business equal to about 10% of that amount.
“Our initial goal is to make Digital X a core pillar of ‘Mirae Asset 3.0,’” Park said, according to The Korea Times. He added that the group plans to make its digital asset operations profitable in 2027. Mirae Asset has not released a timetable for reaching the full 150 trillion won target or explained how much of the figure will come from exchange assets, stablecoins, tokenized products, or other services.
From Korbit to Digital X: The Acquisition Story
The scale of the target goes far beyond Digital X’s existing exchange business. Korbit controlled only 0.5% of South Korea’s cryptocurrency trading market in 2025, according to the country’s Fair Trade Commission, leaving it well behind market leaders Upbit and Bithumb.
Founded in 2013, Korbit was South Korea’s first cryptocurrency exchange. Its early entry did not translate into a large market position, but Mirae Asset’s ownership gives the platform access to capital, financial infrastructure, and an established client base it did not previously have.
A Controlling Stake Worth 141.4 Billion Won
Mirae Asset Consulting completed its purchase of a 97.15% stake in Korbit in July, paying a cumulative 141.4 billion won for control of the exchange. As crypto.news previously reported, the transaction made Mirae Asset the first South Korean financial group to control a domestic cryptocurrency exchange through an affiliate.
Following the rebranding, Park told employees that the new name represented the planned connection between conventional finance and digital assets. Trading, deposits, withdrawals, customer accounts, and custody arrangements continued without interruption after the ownership change.
Mirae Asset initially agreed to buy 92.06% of Korbit for about 133.48 billion won. Additional share purchases later raised its interest to 97.15% and brought the total acquisition cost to approximately 141.4 billion won.
South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission approved the combination on July 9 after deciding that the transaction was unlikely to restrict competition. Korbit’s 0.5% domestic market share was central to the regulator’s assessment.
Bolstering Digital X’s Balance Sheet
Financial support followed the takeover. On Aug. 12, Digital X’s board approved a capital increase through the issue of 10,078,614 common shares priced at 4,961 won each.
Mirae Asset Consulting was due to receive all of the newly issued shares through a third-party allotment, with payment scheduled for Aug. 27. Digital X said the proceeds would strengthen its financial structure and cover management funding needs.
The funding addresses a business that remains small and loss-making despite its long operating history. Korbit generated about 9.8 billion won in operating revenue during 2025 but posted an operating loss of 15.4 billion won, according to figures cited in the earlier report. Unlike the 141.4 billion won spent buying shares from existing owners, the additional 50 billion won enters Digital X itself. The company has not provided a detailed breakdown showing how much will be spent on exchange operations, compliance systems, or the planned tokenization products.
South Korea Prepares Rules for Tokenized Securities
Mirae Asset’s plans are taking shape as South Korea establishes legal infrastructure for tokenized financial products. The National Assembly passed amendments to the Electronic Securities Act and Capital Markets Act on Jan. 15, creating a route for issuing and trading securities whose ownership records are maintained through distributed ledgers.
According to South Korea’s Financial Services Commission, the revised laws recognize a blockchain-based distributed ledger as a securities registry. Issuers will still need to meet registration requirements involving the Korea Securities Depository, while offerings must follow the disclosure and securities rules applied to conventional products.
The amended legislation is scheduled to take effect on Feb. 4, 2027. Before implementation, regulators are preparing supporting rules and infrastructure for issuance, distribution, and over-the-counter trading.
An August report on corporate trading said the regulatory program also covers about 3,500 listed companies and professional investors, which are being prepared to use real-name accounts connected to domestic exchanges. Financial companies were excluded from that corporate trading group, while eligible businesses entered through a controlled pilot. South Korean companies had effectively been unable to trade crypto on local exchanges since 2017 because banks did not provide the real-name accounts required for corporate activity.
Tokenized securities operate under a separate legal structure. The planned system places them within South Korea’s existing capital markets framework instead of treating them as unregulated crypto assets, with licensed intermediaries handling distribution and the Korea Securities Depository maintaining formal records.
U.S. Rules Keep Tokenized Assets Under Securities Law
For U.S. investors, Mirae Asset’s planned security tokens would not automatically become available through American exchanges or brokerages. Any U.S. offer would have to comply with applicable securities, broker-dealer, trading, and disclosure requirements.
In a January statement, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission distinguished between products sponsored by the original issuer and tokens created by an unrelated third party.
The SEC said third-party structures may provide direct or indirect ownership rights, contractual exposure, or synthetic exposure, depending on how the product is designed. Investors may also face risks connected to the third party, including bankruptcy exposure that may not apply to someone holding the underlying security directly.
SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda said in February that tokenized versions of securities remain subject to securities regulation and that moving an instrument on-chain does not remove its legal obligations. His remarks identified issuance, custody, and trading as areas where existing requirements must work with blockchain-based systems.
Zero Fees and Open Questions
Digital X has meanwhile started using lower trading costs to attract activity before the planned products arrive. On Monday, the exchange removed trading fees for every won-denominated asset, with the zero-fee program scheduled to remain in place through Aug. 24, 2027.
Mirae Asset has not specified which assets it will tokenize first, who will hold the underlying gold or silver, or how tokens linked to electricity would be structured. The group has also not disclosed whether the products will be limited to South Korean investors.
