In a significant strategic shift for South Korea's cryptocurrency landscape, Coinone, the country's third-largest digital asset exchange, has confirmed its majority shareholder is exploring a partial stake sale. This development, first reported by the Seoul Economic Daily on November 15, 2024, signals potential industry consolidation and has attracted interest from global players, including U.S.-based exchange giant Coinbase.
Chairman Cha Myung-hun, who controls a combined 53.44% of Coinone through a 19.14% personal stake and a 34.30% holding via The One Group, has initiated discussions. The exploration focuses on selling a portion of these holdings to secure a strategic partnership rather than a complete exit. A Coinone official confirmed ongoing talks but emphasized that specific details on structure, timeline, or buyer remain undetermined.
The move comes as Coinone seeks to bolster its competitive position in a market dominated by Upbit (approx. 80% share) and Bithumb (approx. 15%), with Coinone itself holding roughly 4%. Speculation around a sale intensified after Chairman Cha returned to frontline management just four months after stepping down as CEO, a move some observers interpreted as preparation for a transaction.
Industry sources indicate that Coinbase plans to visit South Korea this week to meet with major local players, including Coinone, as it looks for partners to build products compliant with Korean regulations. This potential tie-up emerges amid a surge in dealmaking within South Korea's crypto exchange sector, following regulatory clearance for Binance's takeover of GOPAX and Naver Financial's all-stock agreement to acquire Dunamu, the operator of Upbit.
Coinone has faced financial challenges, with continued losses weighing on its valuation. Its book value was reported at approximately 75.2 billion won ($52 million) at the end of Q3 2025, below the acquisition cost reported by gaming group Com2uS, which holds a 38.42% stake in the exchange. Despite this, Coinone has pursued product differentiation, launching what it called South Korea's first flexible Bitcoin staking service in August 2025.
Any change in ownership structure must receive approval from South Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) and Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which enforce strict real-name verification, anti-money laundering, and capital requirement standards.
