Mirae Asset Group has set an initial target of building its digital asset business to 150 trillion won ($108 billion) and turning it profitable in 2027, using newly acquired crypto exchange Digital X as a central part of its “Mirae Asset 3.0” strategy.
Digital X said Mirae Asset Group Chairman and Global Strategy Officer Park Hyeon-joo outlined the plan on Aug. 26 during an event for Digital X employees at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul, where the group presented its long-term strategy following the exchange’s recent change in ownership.
Park said Mirae Asset plans to build the digital asset unit around four main areas: cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, real-world assets, or RWAs, and security token offerings. The group also intends to digitize physical assets including gold, silver, and electricity as it develops products tied to blockchain-based finance.
“We will make Digital X a key pillar of Mirae Asset 3.0,” Park said. “Based on the group’s 1,500 trillion won in client assets, our first target is to grow the digital asset sector to 150 trillion won and achieve profitability in 2027.”
Digital X becomes the core of Mirae Asset’s digital asset plan
The strategy gives Digital X a defined role less than two months after Mirae Asset completed its takeover of Korbit and renamed the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange.
As crypto.news previously reported, Mirae Asset Consulting completed the acquisition of a 97.15% stake before the exchange began operating under the Digital X name. Park informed employees in July that Korbit had formally joined the group and would form part of the Mirae Asset 3.0 strategy.
Mirae Asset Consulting initially held 92.06% of the exchange and later bought the remaining 5.42% stake needed to bring its ownership to 97.15%. The transaction followed approval from South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission and was described in local reports as the country’s first acquisition of a crypto exchange by an affiliate of a traditional financial group.
Korbit’s existing trading, deposit, withdrawal and account services continued after the ownership change, while customer cash and virtual assets remained segregated from company assets under South Korea’s Virtual Asset User Protection Act.
At the Aug. 26 meeting, organized to welcome Digital X employees into the group and introduce Mirae Asset 3.0, Park moved beyond the initial acquisition plan by assigning numerical targets to the business.
Alongside the 150 trillion won asset target, the group plans to develop financial products and services that can operate through blockchain networks while using principal investment to support its digital asset operations.
Mirae Asset described the planned model as an “on-chain finance” ecosystem, covering both digital-native assets and tokenized versions of assets that have historically traded through conventional financial infrastructure.
Mirae Asset plans RWA, stablecoin and STO products
Under the strategy presented by Park, Digital X will work across crypto trading and products while Mirae Asset develops stablecoin, RWA and tokenized securities businesses using its existing financial operations and client base.
Real-world asset projects could include the digitization of gold and silver as well as electricity, according to the company. Mirae Asset did not disclose specific token structures, blockchain networks, launch dates or transaction sizes for the planned products.
The group’s tokenized securities plans are being developed as South Korea prepares a legal framework for blockchain-issued securities.
The Financial Services Commission said in May that detailed rules would be prepared for the country’s tokenized securities framework, ahead of amendments to the Capital Markets Act and Electronic Securities Act taking effect on Feb. 4, 2027.
Those changes are expected to recognize distributed ledger systems within regulated securities infrastructure, while the FSC has been studying the treatment of tokenized stocks, bonds and money market funds along with investor protection requirements.
Infrastructure is also being prepared for the market. Samsung SDS won a contract to build a production-ready token securities platform for the Korea Securities Depository, with completion scheduled around the time the new legal rules take effect in 2027.
Other financial groups have moved into the same area. Shinhan Asset Management and Shinhan Investment & Securities signed agreements with the Canton Foundation in June to study Korean tokenized assets, regulatory requirements and access to international markets through the Canton Network infrastructure.
The agreements included work on policy discussions and technical development, while Shinhan Financial Group said other affiliates could later participate in projects involving tokenized assets and digital finance.
Stablecoin plans are developing alongside new crypto rules
Stablecoins form another part of Park’s four-part strategy, although South Korea has yet to finalize the rules that will govern domestic issuance.
A policy report published in July by Hashed Open Research and the Solana Policy Institute proposed introducing interim licensing guidance while lawmakers continue negotiations over the country’s Digital Asset Basic Act.
The proposed stablecoin licensing framework would cover issuance and circulation, exchange conduct, disclosure requirements, internal controls and operational resilience. Lawmakers and regulators have also been discussing the role of banks and non-bank firms in issuing won-denominated stablecoins.
South Korea’s existing Virtual Asset User Protection Act primarily regulates custody, unfair trading and safeguards for customer assets, leaving stablecoin issuance and other market-structure provisions for a second stage of legislation.
The Financial Services Commission said in July that it planned to work with the ruling Democratic Party on consolidating 10 pending digital asset proposals into a government-backed bill. Areas under discussion include stablecoins, exchange operations, disclosure rules, internal controls and system resilience.
The Bank of Korea has separately argued that won-backed stablecoins should initially be issued through bank-led consortiums and has supported a statutory policy body involving financial regulators and other government agencies.
No final legislative structure for stablecoin issuance has been adopted, leaving Mirae Asset’s planned stablecoin products subject to rules still being negotiated by South Korean authorities.
Mirae Asset wants more finance to move on-chain
Beyond individual product categories, Mirae Asset plans to use Digital X to develop an on-chain financial ecosystem that combines blockchain-based products with the group’s existing investment operations.
Park said the company would identify new financial products and services using digital assets while supporting selected businesses through principal investment. Digital X had previously said it would maintain compliance systems covering anti-money laundering, know-your-customer checks, information security and fraud detection as it expands under Mirae Asset ownership.
During the employee event, Park also told staff to prepare for changes in financial markets without limiting themselves to established business models.
“You need to have the insight to look ahead and prepare for new changes in advance,” Park said, adding that employees should “continuously find new possibilities” instead of remaining within fixed frameworks.
The Aug. 26 event also served as the formal introduction of Digital X employees to Mirae Asset Group’s organizational culture and long-term business strategy following the completion of the Korbit acquisition.
