Korbit, South Korea’s first cryptocurrency exchange, has officially joined the Mirae Asset Group network, making it the first domestic crypto exchange to come under the control of a major traditional Korean financial group affiliate.

Launched in 2013, Korbit was the nation’s first homegrown digital asset exchange and has now gained the backing of Mirae Asset Group, a major financial powerhouse in South Korea.

The exchange announced Thursday that Mirae Asset Group has brought Korbit into its broader corporate family, with the group reportedly managing around $1 trillion in assets as of May.

Mirae Asset Consulting, an affiliate of Mirae Asset Group, completed the acquisition by purchasing Korbit shares through required regulatory disclosure channels and becoming the exchange’s largest shareholder. The company confirmed that Korbit Co., Ltd., the operator of the exchange, will continue operating as before.

The affiliate, which is also responsible for overseeing Mirae’s hotel and golf course operations, reportedly holds a 97.15% ownership stake in Korbit.

For customers, the acquisition is expected to have no immediate impact on the platform. Korbit said users can continue accessing existing services, including account logins, trading, deposits, and withdrawals, without disruption. Customer assets will remain protected and kept separate from company funds under South Korea’s Act on the Protection of Virtual Asset Users. The exchange also confirmed that its approach to handling personal information will remain unchanged.

The deal reflects the growing interest among established financial institutions in gaining a stronger foothold in the cryptocurrency industry. In South Korea, where retail crypto activity frequently reaches levels comparable to traditional stock trading, controlling a regulated exchange offers financial groups a strategic entry point into digital assets.

Similar developments are taking place across Asia as financial companies expand into crypto. Japan’s SBI Group has been increasing its digital asset presence through moves including a planned acquisition of Tokyo-based exchange Bitbank for $289 million and a majority investment in Singapore’s Coinhako.

Korbit’s acquisition by Mirae Asset highlights the accelerating relationship between traditional finance and cryptocurrency as large institutions look to participate more directly in the digital asset market.