Mirae Asset Group is making an aggressive push into South Korea’s cryptocurrency market, offering customers a year of commission-free trading at Digital X, the exchange formerly known as Korbit, as the financial conglomerate seeks to challenge the dominance of market leaders Upbit and Bithumb, KED Global reported.
The fee waiver
Digital X will waive all trading fees for a year, a move aimed squarely at pulling retail volume away from Upbit and Bithumb, which together dominate the Korean market. Mirae Asset completed its acquisition of Korbit earlier this year after South Korea’s antitrust watchdog cleared the country’s first takeover of a crypto exchange by a financial conglomerate affiliate, rebranding the exchange as Digital X. Korbit was among the earliest crypto exchanges in South Korea, and backing from Mirae Asset gives it institutional credibility that smaller platforms lack.
A broader digital-finance push
Digital X is also preparing a fresh capital raise of $145 million to $217 million by the first quarter of next year to become a broader digital-finance platform, according to the report. Mirae Asset is one of South Korea’s largest financial groups, with operations spanning securities, asset management, investment banking and private equity, giving Digital X a balance-sheet advantage over smaller rivals.
The competitive backdrop
Upbit and Bithumb have long controlled the bulk of Korean retail crypto trading, and past exchange market-share battles have been fought on fees, listings and liquidity. The fee waiver is a competitive move, and its impact on Digital X’s market share remains unproven, with the exchange yet to disclose resulting volume changes or how long the promotion will sustain if rivals respond with their own incentives.
What’s at stake
South Korea is one of the world’s most active retail crypto markets, and a sustained fee-free period could reshape where that volume flows. Mirae Asset’s entry also marks a broader trend of large financial conglomerates moving into digital-asset infrastructure, a development Korean regulators have been watching as they formalize market-making and listing rules. Whether Digital X can convert a fee holiday into lasting share will depend on its liquidity, listings and custody offering beyond the promotional window.
The campaign comes amid the competitive pressures facing Korean exchanges.
