Local media reported that Samsung Securities, Samsung SDS and Samsung Card will acquire a combined 4% stake in Dunamu, the operator of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, in a deal that increases Samsung affiliates’ exposure to the country’s digital asset market.

Three Samsung affiliates held board meetings on Thursday and approved the purchase of 1.39 million Dunam shares held by Kakao affiliates for 612.8 billion won ($408 million), according to local reports. Yonhap News Agency AND ZDNet Korea. Samsung Securities will acquire 2% of the shares, while Samsung SDS and Samsung Card will acquire 1% each.

The investment extends weeks of pushes for Samsung’s digital assets after Samsung SDS reportedly won a contract to build a South Korean blockchain-based securities platform that will see Samsung’s affiliates exploit both regulated tokenized securities infrastructure and the private sector to exchange cryptocurrencies and payment rails.

The transaction also follows another immense investment by Dunam made by a South Korean financial group. On May 15, Hana Financial Group announced that it would acquire a 6.55% stake in Dunamu from Kakao Investment for over $668 million, making it the fourth largest shareholder of the Upbit operator.

Reports indicate that Samsung Securities plans to cooperate with Dunamu in the issuance and distribution of tokenized securities as well as digital asset services, while Samsung SDS plans to combine its IT, artificial intelligence, cloud, security and data capabilities with Dunamu’s experience in blockchain operations.

Samsung Card is expected to explore exploit cases for digital asset payments in partnership with Dunamu, including through Samsung Financial Networks’ integrated Monimo app, as South Korea develops rules for won-denominated stablecoins and tokenized securities.

Cointelegraph reached out to Samsung and Dunamu for more information but did not receive a response before publication.

Samsung is building digital asset connections ahead of regulatory frameworks

Samsung’s investment in Dunamu follows the group’s recent move into blockchain infrastructure. In early May, Samsung SDS reportedly won a contract to build and operate the blockchain-based securities platform Korea Securities Depository to support South Korea’s upcoming tokenized securities framework.

South Korea is preparing to formalize its tokenized securities framework after lawmakers passed amendments to the Electronic Registration Law and the Financial Investment and Capital Markets Services Law in January. FSC he said the changes legally recognize blockchain-based distributed ledgers as securities registers, placing the KSD at the center of the market infrastructure.

The framework is scheduled to go into effect on February 4, 2027, once sub-policies are updated and related infrastructure is set up.

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According to local reports, Samsung Card is considering digital asset payment exploit cases in partnership with Dunamu through Samsung Financial Networks’ integrated Monimo app, although the companies have not announced a stablecoin or payment product.

Financial Services Commission of South Korea he said in January that it was continuing discussions with related agencies on the second phase of virtual asset legislation in the country, while warning that key details, including stablecoin issuer structures, had not been finalized.

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