One of South Korea's largest brokerage firms, Korea Investment & Securities, plans to acquire shares of Coinone.

Deep Tides TechFlow update: April 3, according to Korea’s Herald Economy, Korea Investment Securities, Korea’s leading brokerage firm, is conducting an initial review regarding the acquisition of shares in Korea’s third-largest crypto exchange, Coinone. The company is currently working to persuade financial regulatory authorities and the National Assembly’s Political and Administrative Committee, following a process similar to Future Asset Group’s previous acquisition of Korbit. Coinone’s current CEO, Cha Myung-hoon, holds 53.44% of the shares, but the upcoming regulatory regulations may set the maximum shareholding limit for major shareholders at 15%-20%, creating an entry window for external buyers.

Although Coinone has increased its market share to double digits, it has recorded operating losses for three consecutive years. Previously, other domestic companies had expressed acquisition intentions, but no agreement was reached due to significant price differences. Industry insiders pointed out that if Korea Investment Securities acquires about 20% of the shares, it would not affect Cha Myung-hoon’s management control. The specific price has not yet been determined, and the process is still in its early stages.

Coinone stated that it has recently received multiple cooperation proposals, but no specific cooperation model, method, or partner has been confirmed yet. The market expects that the transaction scale of Future Asset Group’s previous acquisition of Korbit for approximately 133 billion won will serve as a reference for pricing.