Dunamu, the parent firm behind South Korea’s largest crypto exchange Upbit, is looking to secure a public listing on Nasdaq following its merger with local tech giant Naver. According to local media, Dunamu will pursue a listing on Nasdaq as part of its global expansion strategy, with efforts set to begin after it has completed a comprehensive stock swap agreement with Naver Financial, which is expected to be finalized this week. Dunamu’s potential IPO would allow Wall Street investors to gain exposure to a highly active and often asymmetrical crypto market that operates independently of broader global trends. Naver is a dominant internet and fintech player in South Korea, while Upbit serves as the country’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform. Dunamu-Naver merger plans Reports of the upcoming merger first surfaced in September, building on an earlier longstanding relationship between the two firms, where they collaborated on blockchain ventures, including a Korean won stablecoin project and digital asset trading infrastructure. Dunamu and Naver have agreed to a full stock swap as part of the integration, through which Dunamu will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Naver Financial. The swap ratio is expected to be around 1 to 3.3 or 3.4, according to sources familiar with the matter. However, a company official noted that the final terms have not yet been formally confirmed. Together, the duo has outlined several post-merger initiatives, including plans for an all-in-one financial super app that would combine Naver’s robust payment infrastructure and Upbit’s crypto trading capabilities to provide a seamless experience for digital payments, remittances, e-commerce, and blockchain-based services. Authorities in South Korea, including the country’s Fair Trade Commission and financial watchdogs, are expected to review the merger to assess potential market concentration and regulatory risks before it can move forward. That review may prove challenging, as South Korean regulators have recently taken enforcement actions against Dunamu over compliance lapses involving Upbit’s customer verification processes. Upbit was handed a three-month ban on new user transactions earlier this year and was ordered to pay a fine of over 35 billion won after failing to report suspicious activity and breaching due diligence standards across millions of accounts. Despite running into regulatory headwinds earlier in the year, Dunamu has still managed to deliver a remarkably strong 2025. The company reported KRW 1.73 trillion (about $1.3 billion) in revenue, up 70%, while operating profit surged 85% to KRW 1.18 trillion, reportedly supported by renewed investor optimism following Bitcoin’s halving, a more supportive US policy environment under President Trump, and improving sentiment across global crypto markets at the time. A year of crypto IPOs If the plan goes through, Dunamu would join a growing list of crypto-facing firms that have secured public listings over the past year, as investor appetite for regulated access to digital assets continues to grow. Some of the most prominent names to hit Wall Street include Circle, Gemini, Bullish, and Grayscale. Among the lot, Circle closed one of the most successful IPOs of the year, raising over $1.1 billion in June and briefly pushing its market valuation above $23 billion during its debut week. The post Upbit operator Dunamu to pursue US IPO after Naver merger appeared first on Invezz
