Traditional Financial Institutions Accelerate Race to Secure Digital Asset Infrastructure [Crypto Briefing]

According to Financial News, major global financial institutions are stepping up efforts to acquire crypto exchanges and secure infrastructure for security tokens (STO) and stablecoins. Japan’s SBI Holdings has signed a letter of intent to acquire Singapore-based digital asset platform Coinhako, while Mirae Asset Financial Group has decided to acquire a 92% stake in Korbit, a won-based crypto exchange (won market). In the United States, BlackRock is listing tokenized products on a decentralized exchange and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has announced plans to launch a trading platform for tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) within the year, rapidly blurring the line between traditional capital markets and digital assets.
On the 22nd, the securities industry and foreign media reported that SBI Holdings recently signed a letter of intent (LOI) to acquire a majority stake in Singapore-based digital asset platform Coinhako. Its core goal is to build a next-generation financial ecosystem that includes security tokens and stablecoins. Market observers expect SBI Group to accelerate the creation of an Asian digital finance platform by combining SBI Securities and Osaka Digital Exchange in Japan with Coinhako’s Singapore licensing infrastructure.
In Korea as well, traditional financial and fintech players are moving quickly. Naver (through NAVER Financial), Dunamu (operator of Upbit), Kakao (through Kakao Pay), and Hashed are each exploring entry into the won-based stablecoin market, which has become one of the most notable trends.
Mirae Asset Consulting, an affiliate of Mirae Asset Financial Group, also recently decided to acquire 26.91 million shares of Korbit for 133.5 billion won. As a result, Mirae Asset Consulting will hold a 92.06% stake in Korbit. The stated purpose of the acquisition is to "secure future growth engines based on digital assets." Mirae Asset Consulting is understood to be purchasing all the shares held by former major shareholders NXC and SK Square.
Commenting on this, Yoodong Yoon, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities, said, "At a recent Non-Deal Roadshow (NDR), Mirae Asset Securities explained that domestic and overseas investors are seeking a model where they can trade a wide range of investment assets on a single platform based on a digital wallet." He added, "By establishing a digital entity called 'Digital X' under its Hong Kong subsidiary, the firm is one of the most proactive large institutions in preparing for the security token business."
In the United States, traditional asset managers are also expanding into digital assets. BlackRock has listed its tokenized fund, the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), on the decentralized exchange Uniswap and is reported to have invested in the Uniswap (UNI) governance token as well. Private equity firm Apollo Global Management has partnered with decentralized lending platform Morpho, further blurring the boundary between institutional capital and decentralized finance (DeFi).
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) also plans to launch a platform by the end of this year that will issue, trade, and settle traditional securities in the form of blockchain-based digital tokens. Through this, it aims to improve trading efficiency, reduce settlement and clearing costs, and expand global access. Hong Jin-hyun, an analyst at Samsung Securities, assessed the move as "the largest U.S. exchange formally declaring its entry into the real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and security token markets."
elikim@fnnews.com Kim Mi-hee Reporter