Coinone App Links to Korea Investment & Securities Trading... First Collaboration After Equity Investment [Crypto Briefing]

[Financial News] Korea Investment & Securities and virtual asset exchange Coinone have launched their first service collaboration since a strategic equity investment. Coinone has added a menu in its application that links to Korea Investment & Securities' web trading system (WTS), making it easier for users to invest in both virtual assets and domestic stocks.
According to the financial investment industry on the 27th, Coinone has introduced a new 'Stock Investment' tab at the top of the main screen of its mobile app, which connects to Korea Investment & Securities' WTS. Users can check real-time popular domestic stocks and then trade shares on the WTS after completing Naver authentication, without installing a separate Mobile Trading System (MTS) from a securities firm.
This integration is the first collaboration unveiled about two months after Korea Investment & Securities made a strategic equity investment in Coinone in May. The two companies are focusing on improving service accessibility and convenience for users who invest in both virtual assets and stocks.
The restructuring of the equity ownership structure that underpinned the service collaboration has also been completed. On the 22nd, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Financial Services Commission approved the change-of-major-shareholder filings for Coinone submitted by Korea Investment & Securities and OKX Ventures. As a result, Korea Investment & Securities and OKX Ventures each hold a 20% stake in Coinone, becoming joint third-largest shareholders. Following the restructuring, Coinone's major shareholders are CEO Cha Myung-hoon (30.36%), Com2uS Holdings (24.54%), Korea Investment & Securities (20%), and OKX Ventures (20%).
As a large securities firm became the first to receive regulatory approval as a major shareholder of a virtual asset exchange, the industry expects the long-standing separation between finance and virtual assets to ease further. In particular, Korea Investment & Securities' latest service is being viewed as a strategy to expand retail customer touchpoints through an external platform and secure a foothold in the virtual asset business. Analysts say it is also an attempt to combine securities firms' capital market expertise with the technology and customer base of virtual asset exchanges in preparation for the expansion of the Real-World Assets (RWA) market, including stocks and bonds.
There is also an assessment that the exchange has strategically built its shareholder structure in anticipation of a future shift in its revenue model, moving beyond transaction fees to higher-value licensed businesses such as custody, lending, and derivatives.

A senior executive at a major securities firm said, "The securities industry began with brokerage and has expanded into credit extension, lending, derivatives, and prime brokerage." He added, "Virtual asset businesses may also expand into custody, lending, and derivatives as regulations are refined in the future." He went on to say, "It is difficult to judge long-term competitiveness based only on current trading volume or fee-based market share, so how quickly companies secure licenses and establish internal control systems will become increasingly important."
Partnerships and investments between financial companies and virtual asset businesses are spreading across the financial sector. After receiving merger approval from the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) for its acquisition of a stake in the virtual asset exchange Korbit, Mirae Asset Financial Group changed Korbit's name to 'Digital X.' Park Hyeon-Joo, the group's Global Strategy Office (GSO), outlined RWA, Security Token Offering (STO), and stablecoin as key business areas in a letter to employees.
Hana Financial Group is also diversifying its cooperation with Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, into Korean won stablecoins, RWA, overseas remittances, and payments. Kakao Pay is pushing ahead with a 24-hour trading model that tokenizes Korean stocks and offers them to U.S. investors in partnership with Siebert Financial.
An industry official emphasized, "Just as brokerage fees in the stock market have fallen, virtual asset exchanges will also need to secure revenue sources beyond trading fees in the long run." He added, "As the regulatory framework is refined, the competitiveness of companies with strong capital, technological infrastructure, and internal control capabilities will stand out."
[email protected] Kim Mi-hee Reporter