Exclusive | In-Depth Look into Upbit's U.S. Listing: South Korea's Largest Cryptocurrency Exchange More Profitable than Coinbase, Yet Valued at Only 1/7

By: blockbeats|2025/11/28 08:30:07
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Original Article Title: "Exclusive | In-depth Look at Upbit's Listing in the US: South Korea's Largest Crypto Exchange More Profitable Than Coinbase, But Valued at Only 1/7"
Original Article Author: Lin Wan Wan, Dose of Beating

On November 27, 2025, a "small earthquake" occurred in the South Korean cryptocurrency community.

Upbit, as the absolute dominant player in the Korean market, fell victim to a hack, with 54 billion Korean won (approximately $36 million) disappearing into thin air. Later, Upbit revised the amount to 44.5 billion Korean won of lost Solana network assets.

However, the market's panic was quickly absorbed.

Because based on Upbit's quarterly net profit of about $200 million, Upbit would only need 2 weeks to earn back the stolen amount.

Just three days before the theft, Upbit's parent company Dunamu announced a "century-old marriage" with South Korea's internet giant Naver Financial, preparing for an IPO on the US stock market, with a current valuation of $10.3 billion.

Behind this merger lies not only South Korea's old and new conglomerates but also a Korean super financial group heading to the US stock market.

In this world, many seemingly isolated "black swan" events, when connected, often turn out to be just a speck of dust falling from a massive "grey rhino."

Theft and Merger

First, we must categorize the nature of this "theft."

$36 million is a significant amount. But in front of a trading platform, we must learn to do the math.

According to Dunamu, Upbit's parent company, the 2024 financial report presented at the annual shareholders' meeting: annual operating profit of 1.18 trillion Korean won (approximately $8-9 billion), net profit of 983.8 billion Korean won (approximately $700 million), a year-on-year increase of 22.2%.

Evidently, this stolen amount is merely a mosquito bite to its massive balance sheet.

Currently, the South Korean Financial Supervisory Service has tentatively identified the clandestine hand behind the scenes as the North Korean Lazarus Group. Official analysis indicates that this attack replicated the "permission hijacking" technique from 6 years ago, where hackers likely stole or impersonated an administrator's account to transfer funds, rather than directly infiltrating servers. Currently, South Korean regulatory authorities have urgently dispatched to Upbit's headquarters for an on-site investigation.

But it was this particular bite from a mosquito that exposed a deeper issue: Upbit has become too big. So big that its cash flow is enough to entice hackers, and its sheer existence is enough to make regulatory authorities wary.

This is why the "century merger" three days ago was so crucial. If the theft showed Upbit's financial strength, then the merger revealed its anxiety and ambition.

According to public information, Naver Financial (Naver's financial branch) will engage in a full equity swap with Dunamu (Upbit's parent company).

Here is an extremely counterintuitive data point. In terms of operating profit, Upbit is at 1.18 trillion Korean won; Naver Financial is only at 103.5 billion Korean won.

This means that Upbit is making 10 times the amount of money compared to the other party.

Exclusive | In-Depth Look into Upbit's U.S. Listing: South Korea's Largest Cryptocurrency Exchange More Profitable than Coinbase, Yet Valued at Only 1/7

With such a stark difference in profitability, why merge?

In theory, this should have been an "upward attack" or "takeover" by Upbit on Naver Financial. However, in the world of capital, logic has never been about who has more money being the boss.

Therefore, this merger is more about cooperation between South Korean political interest groups. Upbit, representing the internet and emerging industry "new political power faction" behind Naver, has extended an olive branch to gain Naver's strong political protection. Only through this kind of structural reorganization, leveraging Naver's shell, or using Naver's endorsement, can they bypass South Korean regulations and go straight to the U.S. Nasdaq.

For more details on Upbit's listing, we exclusively interviewed Jason Huang, Founder of NDV USD Fund, an investor with a long-term focus and systematic research on the South Korean cryptocurrency trading ecosystem.

NDV is a compliance-oriented hedge fund focused on "digital asset stocks + derivatives", known for its stringent risk control with independent custody and auditing. In terms of past performance, NDV's first fund, Fund I, has had outstanding performance, achieving a 275.5% net settlement return within two years.

Below is our interview.

Interview on Upbit Listing

The Probe: What is Upbit expected to achieve through a U.S. listing?

Jason: Currently, the merger between Upbit's parent company Dunamu and Naver Financial may be the largest in Crypto history.

After the merger, following the typical preparation period for US stocks, it is expected to take 8-9 months. If all goes smoothly, ideally, the company is expected to file for listing in the second half of 2026.

From what I understand, the world's largest top-tier investment banks are competing to be their underwriters, as it is also one of the best-performing projects. For example, Kraken only turned a profit in the third quarter of this year and has already reached a valuation of $200 billion.

Dongzuo: How is Upbit's compliance and listing preparation?

Jason: Upbit is a very mature and transparent company, essentially equivalent to a "pre-listed company." It is currently audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Korea and is one of the five compliant exchanges in Korea. Therefore, the level of compliance is similar to that of Coinbase in its early years.

The company has no preferred shares, only common stock, and its information disclosure is transparent. The listing preparation work has been basically completed, and after the merger, it is only waiting for regulatory approval.

Dongzuo: Upbit is currently valued at $10.3 billion. How do you view this valuation?

Jason: This is clearly a project with a significant discount in the primary market.

Comparing it to the US exchange platform Coinbase, which currently has a market capitalization of around $70 billion and a Price-to-Earnings ratio (PE) of about 30-40 times, Robinhood's PE ratio even reaches 60-70 times.

In contrast, Upbit's valuation in the primary market is only about $10 billion. Even considering the "Korean discount," Upbit remains a very attractive value proposition. Top investment bank bankers believe this is a multi-billion dollar opportunity.

The so-called "Korean discount" has long existed in the Korean stock market. This is due to factors such as geopolitical risks and the chaebol governance structure, leading to Korean companies generally having lower valuations than similar companies globally.

However, if Upbit were just a profitable trading platform, its upside would only be the next Coinbase. But what is truly more valuable is the just completed acquisition.

The parent company of Upbit, Dunamu, exchanged shares with Naver Financial at a ratio of approximately 1:2.5. If we consider market capitalization: Dunamu, the parent company of Upbit, holds a share of 3, and Naver Financial holds a share of 1. After the merger, the CEO of Upbit's parent company remains the new single largest shareholder.

Insight: What does this merger with Naver Financial signify?

Jason: Let's use an analogy.

What is Naver? It is Korea's Google plus Amazon.

What is Naver Financial? It is Korea's "Alipay" or "Google Pay".

Therefore, this merger will create an unprecedented financial giant. We can think of it as a triad of "Coinbase (exchange) + Google Pay (payment) + Circle (stablecoin)."

Insight: Why mention Circle?

Because the new South Korean government is vigorously promoting a Korean won stablecoin. Referring to Circle's annual substantial revenue payment to Coinbase as a "protection fee" business model, this process will definitely involve Upbit.

Currently, there is no company in the market that can simultaneously possess both a "traditional payment license" and a "cryptocurrency exchange license," and both are national-level applications. The valuation logic of this ecological closed loop is no longer just a simple PE multiple; it is the multiplier effect of platform economics, and it is a good business.

If Coinbase is considered a "trading platform + stablecoin partnership" and Robinhood is a "broker + crypto on-ramp," then in the future, if Upbit completes the merger and issues a Korean won stablecoin, it will look more like a "payment infrastructure + trading platform + native stablecoin" ecosystem.

This is also why current investors believe that the $10.3 billion valuation is a "bargain."

Insight: You mentioned Coinbase earlier. Will Upbit have lower operational costs than Coinbase?

Jason: Yes, Upbit's operating cost is only one-tenth of Coinbase's.

Interviewer: Why is there such a significant cost difference?

Jason: Coinbase operates in the United States and competes globally with Robinhood, Binance, and Kraken. Therefore, it incurs high U.S. labor and compliance costs and is still burning cash to compete.

On the other hand, Upbit operates in the Korean market where competition has basically been eliminated. As the holder of the world's second-largest spot trading volume, second only to Binance, Upbit enjoys an absolute monopoly position.

In economics, this is called the "rent in excess of a natural monopoly," where nearly every additional unit of revenue can be directly converted into net profit.

This has created a significant "valuation gap": a giant with a profit margin far exceeding Coinbase, holding a monopoly position, yet its valuation is only one-seventh of Coinbase's.

For capital, this obvious value mismatch is an enticing target. They are betting on one thing: by listing in the U.S., they can fill this huge valuation gap.

Coinbase faces global competition in the U.S. market and needs to deal with ongoing competition from Kraken, Robinhood, and other rivals. In contrast, the Korean market's competition has been mostly eliminated, and Upbit's monopoly position allows it to more efficiently convert every additional unit of revenue into profit.

Interviewer: If Upbit's valuation is so undervalued, why would anyone want to sell their first-tier equity?

Jason: Some Koreans believe that they cannot fully control the entire listing cycle and are worried that the listing may occur during a bear market. Some people hope to cash out at the current stage.

Personally, even in a bear market, a valuation of $10.3 billion still offers a strong cost-performance ratio.

Interviewer: Many media outlets have reported that Masayoshi Son also played a role in this acquisition?

Jason: That's inaccurate. Masayoshi Son only holds shares in Naver's parent company, and in this merger of its subsidiary Naver Financial, Masayoshi Son is not considered involved. It's like the recent reports of Jack Ma buying Ethereum, which is not true; he is just a shareholder, and Jack Ma may not even know that he has bought Ethereum. Similarly, Masayoshi Son probably doesn't even know that he drove their largest acquisition in South Korea, haha.

Wrap-up: Lastly, let's discuss your view on the cryptocurrency market. How do you see the macro market environment for next year?

Jason: We are optimistic about next year. We were interviewed a few months ago and predicted a 30%-50% pullback within six months, which has now essentially occurred. Retail investors who needed to exit have already done so, and leverage has been largely cleared.

As long as the U.S. is in a rate-cutting environment next year, risk assets are unlikely to decline, and the market is poised for a good performance.

Epilogue

Back to the beginning.

While ordinary retail investors are still lamenting the loss of $35 million in the Upbit incident, true investors are calculating stock-for-stock ratios and planning the Nasdaq bell-ringing ceremony.

This is a power transition in Korean business history.

With the merger with Naver, Upbit is demonstrating this governance structure upgrade. The future Upbit will no longer be just a place for trading coins but a comprehensive fintech group integrating payment, trading, and stablecoins.

This is not a power play of who controls whom but a strategic choice to adapt to the global wave of cryptocurrency regulation.

Upbit is becoming a typical example of a non-U.S. cryptocurrency industry: cryptocurrency exchanges from various countries are all headed in the same direction, from the gray area to the beginning of political cooperation.

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