Dunamu, the parent company of South Korean crypto exchange Upbit, is reportedly looking to debut in the US after finalizing its merger with local tech giant Naver.
Dunamu is looking to launch an initial public offering on tech-rich Nasdaq after the merger closes, which is expected later this week, Seoul Economic Daily reported on Monday.
Local edition of The Chosun Daily reported on Monday that Dunamu and Naver plan to hold separate board meetings on Wednesday to approve the merger. If both committees pass, the CEOs of Dunamu and Naver will publicly outline details of their post-merger plans on Thursday.
Upbit is the most popular crypto trading platform in South Korea and CoinGecko shows recorded $2.1 billion in volume over the past day, roughly equaling the nearly $2.2 billion of its US rival Bullish, which had its IPO in August.
Dunamu’s potential IPO would allow Wall Street exposure to a very active crypto market outside the US that often moves asymmetrically to other global crypto markets.
Dunamu and Naver to merge with stablecoin plans
Local media reported in September that Naver Financial, Naver’s fintech arm, would take over Dunama by making it a subsidiary through a stock exchange, pending board approvals.
Naver is the best search engine in the country and has been called the “Google of South Korea”. Similar to Google, Naver also operates an email hosting service, blogs, maps and a mobile payment processor.
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Naver also plans to launch a local currency stablecoin project, while South Korea is moving forward with allowing stablecoins backed by the Korean won, initially through banks.
Regulatory authorities must also greenlight the deal and will consider whether a merger of the country’s largest crypto exchange and payment services provider would constitute a monopoly.
The US is seeing a rush of crypto IPOs
More crypto companies have debuted in the US this year amid a more favorable political environment for the sector.
Crypto exchanges Gemini, Bullish and eToro debuted earlier this year, although their share prices have fallen along with the crypto market.
Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group also had one of the most successful IPOs of the year in June, valuing it at $18 billion on its debut.
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