Tiger Research: Korean Crypto Retail Investors Are Disappearing — Who Will Prop Up the Market in 2026?

This article is written by Tiger Research. The Korean crypto market is undergoing a power shift. The era dominated by retail investors is ending. Even before regulatory clarity is fully achieved, traditional financial institutions have begun aggressively competing to secure key infrastructure, including STO standard-setting, stablecoin payment rails, and the custody market. Behind this seemingly calm MOU competition lies a battle for control over the front end of future digital asset finance—whoever masters this infrastructure will control the customer gateway for the next decade.

Partnerships and equity acquisitions between Korean institutions and securities firms are accelerating in tandem within the crypto market. However, the overall landscape remains difficult to see at a glance. While many partnerships have been announced, actual commercial deployments remain rare. This report explores why the conversion rate is so low and why institutions continue to push forward.

Core Takeaways

• Institutional crypto activities in Korea have moved beyond MOUs into specific business operations and exchange equity acquisitions.
• Institutions are silently intensifying competition for key financial infrastructure, including STO standard-setting, stablecoin payment rails, and the custody market.
• Domestic infrastructure builders are becoming core pillars of institutional business, constructing localized Korean rails that align with the Bank of Korea's CBDC framework and local regulatory requirements, reducing reliance on foreign technology.
• The strategy for overseas Web3 foundations entering Korea has completely shifted from retail community building to partnerships with large corporations and financial institutions, as traditional finance accelerates its takeover of the market.

1. The MOU Arms Race

The above chart, compiled by Tiger Research, maps the connections within the Korean institutional crypto landscape. But the structure is not easy to decipher at a glance. It is difficult to distinguish which lines represent active business operations and which are merely MOUs, and the boundary between central hubs and peripheral participants remains blurred.

Notably, this complexity itself accurately reflects the current state of the Korean institutional crypto market. As confirmed by Tiger Research's dataset—150 institutions and 196 partnerships—no single hub has yet achieved dominant control over the market.

Domestic institutions are simultaneously establishing their positions across the market before full regulatory clarity arrives. The competition currently revolves around three fronts: stablecoins, STOs (Security Token Offerings), and custody (crypto asset storage).

Also noteworthy is the continued acquisition of exchange equity by financial institutions, interpreted as a confidence-driven move to secure a foothold ahead of full regulatory clarity.

2. The Battle for Exchange Equity

Less than ten days after Hana Bank announced its acquisition of a 6.55% stake in Dunamu, Upbit's operator, for approximately 1 trillion KRW (about $720 million), Hanwha Investment & Securities approved an additional acquisition of 3.90%. On the same day, May 28, Samsung Securities, Samsung SDS, and Samsung Card jointly announced a collective acquisition of 4.0%. Mirae Asset Consulting had already signed an agreement in February to acquire a 92.06% stake in Korbit, and there are also reports that Korea Investment & Securities and global exchange OKX are discussing a joint acquisition of Coinone.

This competition reflects a revaluation of crypto exchanges, which are now seen not merely as trading fee platforms but as critical customer touchpoints capable of distributing stablecoins, custody services, security tokens, and RWA products.

Banks and securities firms gain indirect access to licenses such as VASP registration while simultaneously securing the exchanges' user base and liquidity. The current equity battle is ultimately a race for who will control the front end of digital asset finance.

3. The Korean Crypto Market by Sector

A sector-by-sector analysis of the relationship map reveals an uneven landscape. The custody business is the most operationally active, with many participants already running real-time services after clearing regulatory hurdles. In contrast, RWA and STO remain largely at the contract or MOU stage, awaiting the enactment of relevant legislation. Stablecoins face a similar stagnation, with no clear standard-setter positioned to dominate the market.

Due to the differing nature of barriers in each sector, breakthrough strategies also vary. Some participants are consolidating domestic alliances, waiting for regulatory openings. Others are turning to overseas markets with faster regulatory progress, carving out alternative paths. The following sections explore the specific barriers and participant strategies for each sector.

3.1. RWA/STO: Legislation Passed, Commercial Infrastructure is the Bottleneck

The domestic STO market is divided into two camps: the KOSCOM-led alliance and the Shinhan Investment Securities-led fragmented investment alliance. Mirae Asset Securities has taken an independent path, leveraging overseas operations rather than waiting for domestic infrastructure.

KOSCOM, a core financial network operator in which the Korea Exchange holds a 76.6% stake, is pursuing a neutral infrastructure model aligned with its founding mission, providing shared infrastructure for securities firms. Rather than signing exclusive agreements with individual issuers, it integrates 11 securities firms onto its platform, aiming to set technical standards for issuance and distribution and ensuring interfaces compatible with the Korea Securities Depository's integrated custody management requirements.

Shinhan Investment Securities has rapidly built its own STO ecosystem. Starting with a proof of concept with Lambda 256 in 2022, it launched the joint platform PULSE in 2024 and officially introduced a multi-platform account integration service in 2025. In 2025 alone, it participated in ten investment contract security issuances as an account manager and acquired a controlling stake in the OTC exchange NXT, establishing an end-to-end pipeline from issuance to distribution within its own ecosystem.

Mirae Asset Securities bypassed domestic infrastructure development entirely, going directly overseas. It issued digital bonds in Hong Kong, obtained a digital asset retail license from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, and plans to launch an MTS for retail investors in the market in June. In the US, it is the only Korean securities firm to join the DTCC-led tokenization working group, which includes JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and BlackRock, participating in global standard-setting discussions. This strategy positions Mirae Asset advantageously in terms of regulatory alignment and negotiation leverage when domestic STO infrastructure eventually aligns with global standards.

3.2. Stablecoins: Legislation, Not Technology, is the Bottleneck

The stablecoin market features more diverse participants than other sectors. Card companies, exchanges, fintech firms, and infrastructure companies are all entering via different routes, leveraging their respective strengths.

The largest camp is the Kakao Group. Kakao, KakaoBank, and Kakao Pay have formed a joint task force to build a "super wallet" covering stablecoins, cryptocurrencies, and local currencies. Their key asset is the infrastructure accumulated from operating the Kaia public chain since the Ground X era. Kaia has already deployed Tether (USDT) on its network and is conducting real-time payment tests.

Shinhan Card is focused on migrating its existing payment network to blockchain rails. Shinhan Card signed an MOU with Solania in April, although technical groundwork predated the agreement. The company has completed initial proof-of-concepts in collaboration with Solana, Visa, Mastercard, and Fireblocks, and is now conducting advanced testing in six areas including wallets and smart contracts.

The exchange camp is circumventing the delay in Korean won stablecoins by utilizing USD stablecoins. Dunamu is developing a Korean won stablecoin business with Naver Financial based on its proprietary blockchain, GIWA. Faced with delays in Korean won stablecoin regulation, Bithumb has chosen to first secure a USD stablecoin distribution network through partnerships with Circle and WLF. A joint Korean won stablecoin initiative with Toss is also under discussion, albeit progressing slowly.

All camps are active but face the same regulatory barriers. The Bank of Korea is pushing for a 51% rule, requiring only bank-majority consortia to be permitted to issue stablecoins, while fintech companies are lobbying for access, delaying government-ruling party consultations. Once issuance guidelines are published, the camp with the most comprehensive public touchpoints is expected to achieve market leadership.

3.3. Custody: More Institutional Capital Needed

The custody market is structurally simpler than other sectors. The four major custodians have each secured domestic and international financial and technology partners to establish their market positions.

KODA, co-founded by KB Kookmin Bank, Hashed, and Haechi Labs, combines traditional financial capital with crypto-native VC. Hanwha Investment & Securities, IBK Capital, and Kyobo Securities subsequently joined as investors, and a dedicated custody insurance agreement with Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance further enhances its stability.

KDAC is a traditional finance-led custodian, with Shinhan Bank and NH Nonghyup Bank as major shareholders. NH Nonghyup Bank was initially an investor in another custodian, Kardo, and became a KDAC shareholder after the merger. Post-merger, KDAC's shareholders include two of Korea's top five banks.

BDACS has taken a unique approach centered on technology and partnership development. Expanding its custody and payment infrastructure through partnerships with Woori Bank and international digital asset infrastructure companies including Galaxy and GK8, it has also signed an MOU with Circle to issue the Korean won stablecoin KRW1 on Circle's Arc blockchain and is the sole VASP and key custody partner in the KRX-led KDX consortium. BDACS is currently conducting a proof of concept for KRW1, positioning itself as a custodian targeting both custody and payment infrastructure.

BitGo Korea entered the domestic market leveraging the technological prowess of its global parent company. BitGo headquarters custodies over $70 billion in assets and handles approximately 20% of global Bitcoin on-chain transactions. Domestically, Hana Financial Group and SK Telecom each hold stakes, making it a custodian backed by financial and telecommunications capital.

Institutions have entered the market through their respective custody relationships. However, all major custodians reportedly recorded net losses last year, indicating that their build-out is ahead of the institutional capital inflows needed to sustain operations.

Taken together, the infrastructure buildout across STO, stablecoins, and custody reveals a clear common constraint: domestic institutions have constructed business frameworks, but the underlying technology infrastructure still largely relies on overseas solutions.

4. Infrastructure Builders

Relying on overseas solutions incurs structural costs: as the market grows, a significant portion of revenue will flow overseas in the form of technology licensing fees. Domestic infrastructure also faces disruption risks if overseas partners change policies or raise costs.

A more fundamental issue is that areas requiring alignment with Korea's specific regulatory environment—such as Korean won stablecoin issuance, STO distribution rules, and domestic corporate account integration—cannot simply adopt global solutions directly. This is precisely why, once relevant legislation is finalized and capital begins to flow seriously, domestic technology companies capable of directly designing and controlling the underlying rails according to the Korean regulatory framework will be indispensable.

Domestic companies that have already identified this technology gap and are building Korea-specific financial infrastructure are already taking action. The leading technology providers are as follows.

4.1. LG CNS

Among traditional IT service companies, LG CNS has the most distinct stance. Since launching its own blockchain platform "Monachain" in 2018, it has accumulated operational experience by serving over 220 local governments through the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation's local currency platform.

This permissioned chain experience translated into orders for CBDC and STO projects. As the main contractor for the Bank of Korea's CBDC project "Hangang", LG CNS is developing a government subsidy distribution system using deposit tokens. Through this process, it has built the system architecture capability to run institutional CBDCs and private digital currencies on a single network, effectively transplanting traditional financial security standards and procedures onto the blockchain.

Developing the KOSCOM joint STO issuance platform and Mirae Asset Securities' STO platform follows the same logic. Rather than directly issuing assets, LG CNS is targeting three directions: building issuance and distribution platforms for banks, providing SaaS to payment operators including credit card companies, payment gateways, and simple payment services, and developing digital asset payment platforms for securities firms. Once the regulatory framework is finalized, it appears the most likely candidate to secure the infrastructure contract market.

Among blockchain infrastructure companies, DSRV stands out for directly helping financial institutions access on-chain infrastructure. As a validator and infrastructure company operating on over 70 blockchain networks, DSRV manages over 4 trillion KRW (approximately $2.9 billion) in assets, ranking first in Ethereum staking in Korea and among the top ten globally.

The key development is its expansion from node operations to full-stack institutional on-chain infrastructure. Through the DSRV Portal, financial institutions can access wallet, payment, tokenization, custody, and staking functions via API and dashboard interfaces. Without needing to build their own node and security infrastructure, financial firms can access user wallets, institutional wallets, recurring payments, token issuance, burning, transfer and locking, custody, and staking capabilities.

Trust mechanisms are also in place. DSRV was the first to obtain VASP, ISMS, and SOC 1 Type 1 certifications, directly meeting the regulatory, security, and operational control requirements demanded by financial institutions. In effect, this means the external infrastructure provider assumes the wallet security, internal controls, and operational risks that financial companies find most burdensome when deploying on-chain services.

Its partnerships are oriented towards payment rail construction. DSRV is co-developing remittance infrastructure compliant with Korean and Japanese regulations with SBI Ripple Asia. It is developing an institutional USDC issuance, redemption, and settlement framework bypassing exchanges with Circle. It has signed a stablecoin payment infrastructure agreement with BC Card to connect traditional card payment networks to the blockchain.

DSRV recently completed a 30 billion KRW (approximately $21.7 million) Series B funding round to accelerate technology development.

4.3. Altus (formerly B-Harvest)

Altus (formerly B-Harvest) operates in the integration layer between financial institutions' legacy systems and blockchain environments. Founded in 2018, the company has contributed to the development of Cosmos SDK-based EVM chains and is an organization of over 40 engineers and researchers who have directly built multiple production networks including Canto, Crescent, Stable, and Ault.

Altus handles protocol engineering and core architecture for Ault Blockchain, an institutional L1 focused on RWAs, trading, and payments. In 2025, it contributed EVM integration, performance improvements, and security audits to the Bitcoin staking L1 Babylon, supporting its production readiness.

Its financial institution solutions stem from the same layer. Altus builds from the ground up according to financial industry requirements: an on-chain/off-chain orchestration layer connecting legacy systems and blockchain execution environments, RWA tokenization, permissioned exchanges, stablecoin payment and settlement, and institutional wallet and custody infrastructure.

Current internal R&D proceeds in parallel: the Canton Network architecture supporting selective data disclosure between institutions, and the Commonware Stack, a modular blockchain framework targeting 1 million TPS.