Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
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South Korea’s Coinone exchange is reportedly exploring the sale of a partial stake held by its chairman and largest shareholder.
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The crypto exchange is in talks with exchanges abroad and local financial institutions for the sale.
Coinone Seeks to Sell Major Stakeholder Shares
Coinone, South Korea's third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, is considering the sale of shares held by its chairman. This is according to a report from local news outlet Seoul Economic Daily.
Chairman and largest shareholder, Cha Myung-hoon, currently holds a 53.4% stake in the exchange via his company, The One Group.
A representative from Coinone reportedly said that the company is in talks with major exchanges abroad and local financial institutions about potential participation in the sale through equity investments. However, nothing has been decided at the moment, the representative added.
Cha recently returned to active management after a four-month break following his resignation as CEO. The report pointed out that the return may be related to preparations for the stake sale or a larger deal.
In addition to that, the report revealed that the shares held by the second-largest shareholder, local gaming firm Com2Us, which acquired a 38.42% stake between 2021 and 2022, could also potentially be included in any deal.
This latest development comes as the cryptocurrency exchange continues to face a financial crisis. Coinone has posted losses in recent periods, leaving it with a book value of about 75.2 billion won ($52.2 million) at the end of the third quarter, which is below its previous valuation of 94.4 billion won.
The report added that U.S.-based Coinbase may participate in the sale, with executives from the crypto exchange set to travel to South Korea this week to meet with Coinone executives.
