Naver's $10B Upbit Deal Gets Stuck in Seoul's Regulatory Slow Lane

Naver Financial has pushed back its planned share swap with Dunamu, the operator of crypto exchange Upbit, by roughly three months as antitrust and crypto law reviews continue to drag on. Because nothing says "move fast and break things" quite like waiting for South Korean regulators to finish their coffee.

In a filing with the Financial Supervisory Service, the company said it now expects to hold a shareholder vote on Aug. 18 and complete the transaction on Sept. 30 — a shift from earlier target dates of late May or early June. Mark your calendars, set reminders, maybe learn a new language in the meantime.

The $10.3 billion all-stock deal, first revealed in September 2025 and confirmed in a Nov. 26 filing, would bring Dunamu under Naver Financial's umbrella as a wholly owned subsidiary. The tie-up would combine one of South Korea's biggest fintech platforms with the operator of its biggest crypto exchange. It's like merging a responsible adult with their rebellious crypto uncle at a family reunion everyone saw coming.

The filing noted the deal remains subject to multiple regulatory approvals tied to changes in major shareholding and business combination review. Naver warned the transaction could be delayed further or even canceled depending on approval progress. Ongoing discussions around South Korea's proposed Digital Asset Basic Act — a second-phase crypto law expected in the first half of 2026 — could also impact the timeline or outcome. Nothing like regulatory uncertainty to keep executives up at night scrolling through comment sections.

The delayed timeline coincides with Dunamu's declining profits. The company posted 2025 revenue of about 1.56 trillion won (around $1 billion), down 10% year-on-year. Operating profit fell 26.7% to 869.3 billion won (around $573.3 million), while net profit dropped 27.9% to 708.9 billion won (around $467 million). Ouch. That's the financial equivalent of watching your portfolio go red during a Sunday night sell-off.

Dunamu attributed the decline to reduced trading volumes during a broader crypto market slowdown. According to research firm 10x Research, trading volumes recently fell to their lowest levels since 2022, with total weekly volume down about 7% from average. Turns out when Bitcoin decides to take a nap, everyone else's piggy bank gets a little lighter too.