Dunamu, the parent company of South Korean crypto exchange Upbit, is reportedly looking to debut in the US after it finalizes its merger with local tech giant Naver.
Dunamu wants to launch an initial public offering on the tech-heavy Nasdaq after its merger closes, which is expected to occur later this week, the Seoul Economic Daily reported on Monday.
Local outlet The Chosun Daily reported on Monday that Dunamu and Naver plan to hold separate board meetings on Wednesday to approve the merger. If passed by each board, the CEOs of Dunamu and Naver will publicly detail their post-merger plans on Thursday.
Upbit is the most popular crypto trading platform in South Korea, and CoinGecko shows it has seen $2.1 billion in volume over the past day, roughly equivalent to the nearly $2.2 billion volume on its US-based rival Bullish, which had its IPO in August.
Dunamu’s potential IPO would allow Wall Street to get exposure to a highly active crypto market outside the US that often moves asymmetrically to other global crypto markets.
Dunamu and Naver to merge with stablecoin plans
Local media reported in September that Naver Financial, Naver’s fintech arm, would acquire Dunamu by making it a subsidiary via a share exchange, pending board approvals.
Naver is the country’s top search engine and has been dubbed the “Google of South Korea.” Much like Google, Naver also operates an email hosting service, blogs, maps and a mobile payments processor.
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Naver also plans to launch a local currency stablecoin project, as South Korea is moving forward with allowing Korean won-backed stablecoins, initially via banks.
Regulatory authorities must also greenlight the deal and will review whether the country’s top crypto exchange and payments provider merging would be a monopoly.
US sees rush of crypto IPOs
Multiple crypto companies have made their debut in the US this year amid a friendlier policy environment for the sector.
Crypto exchanges Gemini, Bullish and eToro debuted earlier this year, though their stock prices have declined alongside the crypto market.
Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group also had one of the most successful IPOs of the year in June, which saw it valued at $18 billion on its debut day.
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