XRP Tops on Upbit as South Korea’s “Big 4” to Acquire $670M Stake in Dunamu

Hana Financial Group on Friday said it will acquire a 1 trillion won ($670 million) stake in Dunamu, operator of South Korea’s largest crypto exchange Upbit, through its subsidiary Hana Bank, South Korea’s “Big 4” bank. XRP surpasses BTC in trading volume on XRP Upbit amid the major announcement.

South Korea’s Hana Bank to Buy $670 Million Stake in Upbit Operator Dunamu

South Korea’s Hana Financial Group on May 15 decided to buy a stake in the country’s top crypto exchange operator Dunamu for 1 trillion won ($670 million). It marks the largest-ever investment by a bank into a crypto exchange operator.

On the same day, Hana Bank’s board of directors resolved to acquire 2,284,000 shares of Dunamu held by Kakao Investment. With the acquisition, Hana Bank will secure its position as the fourth-largest shareholder with a 6.55% stake in Dunamu.

“This equity investment is a strategic decision to accelerate digital asset-based financial innovation,” said Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo. He added, “Together with Dunamu, we will take the lead in promoting the creation of a K-blockchain ecosystem and concentrate all of the group’s capabilities so that the domestic digital asset industry can leap to a globally leading level.”

Moreover, Hana Financial Group also signed a strategic business agreement with Dunamu to build a future innovation model linking traditional finance and crypto assets, alongside the equity investment.

Recently, Hana Financial TI completed a proof-of-concept (PoC) for a Korean won-backed stablecoin on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). Under the project, the firm collaborated with XRPL Korea and Axelar to enhance cross-border payments and institutional crypto adoption in the country.

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XRP Trading Volume Overtakes Bitcoin on Upbit

XRP trading volume surges massively on Upbit crypto exchange today, overtaking BTC daily volume. It follows amid a rise in whale accumulation and South Korea’s Hana Bank acquiring a stake in Dunamu.

XRP/KRW trading pair led volumes on Upbit, recording more than $330 million in 24-hour volume. This outperformed Bitcoin’s $217 million and Ethereum’s $109 million.

XRP witnessing massive Korean retail interest has historically signaled potential price momentum for the token. Also, such trading volume spikes trigger sharper moves in XRP price. Hana Bank buying Dunamu’s stake will boost institutional interest in crypto, improve liquidity, and tokenization.

XRP price jumped more than 7% to $1.55 after the Senate committee advanced the CLARITY Act. It is now trading at $1.46. Meanwhile, XRP futures open interest climbed 6% to $3.12 billion in 24 hours.