South Korean giant Mirae Asset Financial Group plans to build a 150 trillion won ($109 billion) crypto empire around its recent acquisition Digital X, formerly Korbit, chairman and founder, Park Hyeon-joo, told employees Thursday, Korea Times reported.
In an event titled A New Voyage Begins, Together, Park said Mirae, which has $1 trillion in assets under management, aims to ensure Digital X is profitable by 2027.
He said Digital X will focus on four areas: crypto, stablecoins, real-world assets (RWAs), and security token offerings (STOs). It will also tokenize physical assets, including gold, silver and electricity. The plan also includes building an “onchain finance” ecosystem.
“Our initial goal is to make Digital X a core pillar of ‘Mirae Asset 3.0’ and grow the digital asset business to 150 trillion won ($109 trillion) by leveraging the group’s 1,500 trillion ($1.09 trillion) in client assets,” Park said.
Mirae acquired a 97% stake in Korbit, founded in 2013, in July and subsequently renamed the crypto exchange, Digital X.
Days after the acquisition, Mirae told CoinDesk it wanted to turn Korbit into something South Korea had never seen before, adding that it would develop Digital X into an 'intelligent investment platform' where knowledge, information and in-depth investment insights are organically connected." Mirae also said it would build an investment ecosystem in which RWAs, STOs, stablecoins, and digital assets would be seamlessly interconnected with traditional assets.
South Korea’s retail crypto trading volumes often rival those on stock exchanges, making ownership of a licensed exchange a key strategic asset.
Mirae’s announcement came as Shinhan Financial Group (55550), one of South Korea’s five largest financial conglomerates, announced plansto build stablecoin infrastructure and develop AI-powered payment models alongside Visa. Shinhan intends to use Visa’s stablecoin platform to verify core functions, including issuance, remittance and redemption, while jointly designing a Korea-specific business model.
South Korea, a country with 11.3 million verified crypto users, is currently working on its Digital Asset Basic Act, a broad framework that covers stablecoins, VASP licensing and crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Mirae did not immediately respond to a CoinDesk request for more information.