OKX is reportedly moving closer to securing a significant position in South Korea’s crypto market after entering discussions to acquire a major stake in local exchange Coinone.
According to reports from Yonhap News Agency, OKX and Korea Investment & Securities are each seeking to purchase roughly 20% of Coinone through a new share issuance.
The proposed structure would allow Coinone to raise capital while likely keeping its current management team in place. If approved by regulators, the transaction would make OKX the second major overseas crypto exchange to gain ownership in a South Korean trading platform after Binance acquired a stake in Gopax.
Coinone remains one of South Korea’s limited number of licensed exchanges allowed to provide fiat-to-crypto trading services. However, the country’s trading activity is still heavily dominated by larger platforms such as Upbit and Bithumb.
The reported talks come during a period of increasing institutional investment in South Korea’s crypto exchange sector.
Earlier, Hana Financial Group announced plans to acquire a major stake in Dunamu, the parent company of Upbit, in a deal reportedly valued at around $670 million.
At the same time, Mirae Asset revealed plans to purchase a 92% stake in Korbit, another major domestic crypto exchange.
Meanwhile, South Korean lawmakers continue discussing new ownership restrictions under the proposed Digital Asset Basic Act. Reports suggest regulators are considering limiting corporate ownership in crypto exchanges to 34%, while individual shareholders may face a 20% ownership cap.
Coinone’s current ownership structure could draw additional regulatory attention if those rules move forward. Yonhap reported that The One Group currently holds 34.3% of the exchange, while founder Cha Myung-hoon owns another 19.14%.
Gaming company Com2uS Holdings reportedly controls an additional 21.95% stake, while affiliated unit Com2uS Plus owns 16.47%.
Beyond exchange trading, OKX has also been expanding aggressively across payments, institutional services, and blockchain infrastructure.
The company recently launched the OKX Card in partnership with Mastercard and Circle, allowing stablecoin-linked payments across parts of Europe. According to the company, grocery spending represented the largest share of early transaction activity.
OKX also introduced its Agent Payments Protocol earlier this year, a blockchain framework designed to help AI agents perform payments, escrow services, settlements, and dispute resolution across multiple networks.
In the United States, OKX additionally expanded institutional trading services through a partnership with BitGo, allowing clients to trade while assets remain under third-party custody.
The reported Coinone investment signals that OKX is continuing to push beyond its traditional exchange business as competition for global crypto infrastructure and regional market access intensifies.
