Naver acquires Upbit in Korea

Naver, South Korea’s largest internet portal, has completed a stock swap to acquire Upbit through its fintech arm, NAVER Financial. This acquisition was confirmed by Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, and resulted in a notable 11.4% increase in Naver's shares. Naver is aiming to enhance its ecosystem, which serves around 25 million daily active users across various services including payments and content, by incorporating cryptocurrency trading via Upbit, which has a significant market share of about 69% in Korea’s crypto exchange sector. Naver's strategy aligns with its goal of becoming a comprehensive super app, following its earlier stake acquisition in Dunamu’s platform for unlisted stocks and the development of a KRW stablecoin initiative. This strategic move positions Naver as a financial and digital hub akin to the “everything app” concept proposed by Elon Musk for X.

Source 🔗