Businessjul 24, 2026

Korbit’s

After closing its 97.15% buyout, Mirae Asset rebrands Korbit as Digital X, betting on RWAs and stablecoins instead of chasing Upbit's volume lead.

Sophie Bergmann

On-chain Analyst. Sophie reads wallets, flows and network

2 min read

Korbit, South Korea’s oldest crypto exchange, controls less than 1% of the country’s domestic trading volume — a figure dwarfed by market leaders Upbit and Bithumb. Yet that thin slice of market share hasn’t stopped Mirae Asset from betting big on the platform: having closed a 97.15% acquisition of Korbit on Thursday, the asset management giant is renaming it Digital X and repositioning it as infrastructure for tokenized assets, stablecoins and traditional finance, rather than a volume competitor.

Mirae Asset founder and global strategy officer Park Hyeon-joo disclosed the new name in an internal email to staff, according to a report by Herald Business. Park framed Digital X as the centerpiece of what he called “Mirae Asset 3.0,” a strategy aimed at merging digital assets with the firm’s traditional finance business.

What “Digital X” is supposed to do

According to Park, the rebranded exchange will expand into real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, security token offerings, stablecoin products and traditional asset offerings, all under one roof. Mirae Asset told CoinDesk its goal is to develop Digital X into “an ‘intelligent investment platform’ where knowledge, information and in-depth investment insights are organically connected,” strengthening investor education and research capabilities along the way.

The firm said the “X” in the new name stands for an unwritten future — the possibilities created when different forms of value converge. In practice, that means Mirae wants Digital X to function less like a standalone trading venue and more like an infrastructure layer connecting RWAs, stablecoins, security tokens and digital assets across its broader ecosystem.

Compliance first, market share later

Given Korbit’s sub-1% share of South Korea’s crypto trading market, Mirae has signaled it won’t try to out-compete Upbit and Bithumb on volume. Instead, the firm says its edge will come from investor education, research, strict compliance standards and institutional-grade infrastructure designed to support what it calls the sustainable growth of the digital asset industry.

Park specifically flagged anti-money laundering controls, customer verification, information security and fraud detection as priorities as South Korea continues to build out its regulatory framework for crypto and tokenized securities. That emphasis suggests Mirae is positioning Digital X to be first in line as new licensing and tokenization rules take shape domestically.

Korbit has said its existing services will continue without changes following the acquisition, meaning current users shouldn’t expect an immediate overhaul of trading functionality even as the corporate strategy shifts underneath the platform.

Why it matters for holders

The 97.15% stake marks the first time a major South Korean traditional finance institution has taken direct control of a licensed local crypto exchange, giving Mirae a regulated entry point into digital assets rather than building from scratch. For traders, the near-term impact is limited — Digital X still trails Upbit and Bithumb by a wide margin in liquidity and volume.

But the longer-term signal is about where institutional capital in Korea’s crypto market is heading: toward tokenized real-world assets and stablecoin infrastructure built on compliance-first foundations, rather than pure spot-trading market share. If Mirae’s RWA and stablecoin push gains traction, Digital X could become a template other Korean financial conglomerates try to replicate.