The LSE Directory / Crypto exchanges
Upbit is a South Korean centralized cryptocurrency exchange operated by Dunamu Inc. Launched on October 24, 2017 with technical and liquidity support from US exchange Bittrex, it lets retail and institutional users trade spot crypto against the Korean won and other pairs, with mobile and web apps and separate regional apps for its overseas markets. Within about two months of launch it had already become one of the highest 24 hour volume exchanges in the world, and it has held the top domestic position ever since. Upbit specializes in the Korean won trading pair market, a segment with its own regulatory regime, real name bank account verification requirements, and won settlement infrastructure that foreign exchanges cannot easily replicate. It was the first exchange to complete South Korea's revised virtual asset service provider and real name account licensing requirements when they took effect in September 2021, cementing its position as the default venue for Korean retail crypto activity. Beyond Korea, Dunamu operates separately licensed Upbit entities in Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. Industry data through 2025 and into 2026 puts Upbit's share of South Korean crypto trading volume at roughly 63 to 72 percent depending on the period measured, with rival Bithumb a distant second and smaller exchanges such as Coinone, Korbit and GOPAX splitting a small remainder. Dunamu was founded in 2012 by Song Chi-hyung, who remains chairman; Sirgoo Lee became Dunamu's CEO in December 2017. Dunamu reported roughly 1.56 trillion won in revenue and 708.8 billion won in net profit for fiscal 2025. In November 2019, Upbit was hacked for 342,000 ETH, worth roughly 50 million dollars at the time; a five year investigation concluded in 2024 that the theft was carried out by the North Korean state sponsored groups Lazarus and Andariel, the first officially confirmed North Korean cyberattack on a domestic Korean exchange, and Korean police recovered 4.8 bitcoin tied to the case in 2023. In November 2025 South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit fined Dunamu roughly 35.2 billion won, about 25 million dollars, for anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer failures including a three month freeze on new customer onboarding; Dunamu has said it is reviewing an appeal. Ownership has shifted rapidly through 2025 and 2026. In November 2025, Naver Financial and Dunamu announced an all-stock merger agreement valuing the combined fintech entity at roughly 20 trillion won, about 13 to 14 billion dollars, under which Song Chi-hyung would become Naver Financial's largest individual shareholder; the same week, Upbit disclosed a separate hack of Solana based tokens that South Korean authorities have attributed to the Lazarus group and valued at about 30.6 to 36 million dollars after revision. As of mid 2026 the Naver-Dunamu merger has not closed: regulatory review by the Fair Trade Commission and questions under South Korea's pending Digital Asset Basic Act over shareholder concentration limits have pushed the completion deadline back to no later than December 31, 2026. Separately, in May 2026, Hana Bank agreed to buy a 6.55 percent Dunamu stake for about 1 trillion won and three Samsung affiliates, Samsung Securities, Samsung SDS and Samsung Card, bought a combined 4 percent stake for about 612.8 billion won, both purchased from Dunamu's early Kakao-linked shareholders.
