OKX Ventures and KIS Buy 19.6% of Coinone for $106M

OKX Ventures and Korea Investment & Securities (KIS) will each pay $53 million to acquire a combined 19.6% stake in South Korean crypto exchange Coinone, CoinTelegraph reports, valuing the deal at $106 million total as of June 2025.

Why It Matters

The deal places Coinone's implied valuation near $541 million and signals that institutional capital — both domestic and offshore — is treating South Korea's regulated crypto market as a serious allocation target. For iGaming and crypto operators eyeing the region, KIS's involvement is particularly significant: a legacy securities firm co-investing alongside a major crypto conglomerate suggests the compliance firewall between traditional finance and digital assets is thinning in Seoul. South Korea enforces some of Asia's strictest exchange licensing rules, meaning any foothold inside a licensed venue carries outsized strategic value. OKX gains a regulated distribution channel without the multi-year licensing grind.

Context

Coinone is one of South Korea's five licensed virtual asset service providers (VASPs) under the Financial Intelligence Unit framework, a status that became harder to obtain after the 2023 Virtual Asset User Protection Act tightened registration criteria. OKX Ventures is the investment arm of the OKX exchange, which has expanded aggressively into regulated markets throughout 2024–2025.

What's Next

Watch for a formal regulatory filing with South Korea's Financial Services Commission, which must approve significant ownership changes in licensed VASPs. If cleared, OKX's operational integration with Coinone's order flow and user base could follow within 12–18 months.

Gambling and crypto investment both involve material financial risk. Past valuations do not indicate future returns.