The Korea Fair Trade Commission said on the 9th it will approve Mirae Asset Consulting's acquisition of the virtual asset exchange "Korbit." This merger is the first case of a financial group affiliate acquiring a virtual asset exchange. Mirae Asset Consulting is one of the affiliates of Mirae Asset Group, which includes Mirae Asset Securities, and primarily operates hotels.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) reviewed whether, if the two companies combined, a single platform enabling simultaneous transactions of stocks and virtual assets would raise entry barriers in the securities industry, and whether, if a virtual asset exchange-traded fund (ETF) is launched, there would be concerns about excluding competitors in the asset management market.
As a result, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) determined that Korbit's low market share means the combination of the two companies would not significantly harm market competition. According to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC), based on last year's virtual asset transaction volume, Korbit's market share is 0.5%. It ranks fourth among the five virtual asset exchanges approved by financial authorities.
A Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) official said, "For concerns such as the exclusion of competing businesses in the securities and asset management markets to actually materialize, Korbit must have sufficient liquidity," adding, "At the current level, it is insufficient to cause anticompetitive effects."