Coinbase and Chinese Exchanges Eye South Korean Coin-Market Acquisitions

South Korea's crypto market is seeing increased interest from major exchanges like Coinbase and Chinese-affiliated Bitget and Bybit, who are exploring acquisitions of local coin-market exchanges. These exchanges allow trading in cryptocurrencies but do not support won-denominated trades, setting them apart from the country's five largest exchanges.

The head of a coin-market exchange noted that Coinbase had previously reviewed equity investment possibilities with Korbit and Bithumb, and is now looking at coin-market exchanges as well. Chinese-affiliated exchanges like Bitget and Bybit are still showing strong interest.

Coin-market exchanges have little trading volume and hold VASP licenses, which can serve as a back door into the domestic market. To capitalize on this opportunity, several coin-market exchanges are re-registering as VASPs under tighter standards, with one company aiming to submit its filing on the 20th and another planning to complete the review faster by re-registering earlier.

The industry estimates that only three or four of these exchanges have anti-money-laundering (AML) systems in place to hold real acquisition value. As a result, overseas companies are likely to flood major players with offers around the end of the year.