Why Is Mirae Asset Building A $109 Billion Crypto Business?
South Korea’s Mirae Asset Financial Group plans to build a 150 trillion won ($109 billion) digital asset business around Digital X, setting one of the most ambitious targets yet by a major traditional financial group entering blockchain-based markets.
The plan was outlined by Mirae Asset founder and chairman Park Hyeon-joo at an employee event in Seoul on Wednesday. The group wants Digital X to become a central part of its next phase of growth, spanning cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets and security tokens.
Mirae Asset is also considering injecting as much as 300 billion won ($218 million) in additional capital into the business. A third-party allotment of between 200 billion and 300 billion won could take place in the first quarter of 2027, depending on how quickly earnings improve.
Park said the group wants the digital asset operation to become profitable by 2027, giving Digital X a relatively short period to turn its expansion plans into a sustainable business.
“Our initial goal is to make Digital X a core pillar of ‘Mirae Asset 3.0’ and grow the digital asset business to 150 trillion won by leveraging the group’s 1,500 trillion won in client assets,” Park said.
What Will Digital X Actually Do?
Digital X is expected to concentrate on four areas: cryptocurrency, stablecoins, real-world assets and security token offerings. The company also plans to tokenize assets including gold, silver and electricity, extending its ambitions beyond conventional crypto trading.
The strategy follows Mirae Asset Consulting’s acquisition of a 97% stake in South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Korbit in July. The exchange’s operating company was subsequently renamed Digital X, giving Mirae Asset an existing trading business from which to build its digital asset operations.
Rather than treating the exchange as a standalone crypto platform, Mirae Asset appears to be planning a wider financial infrastructure business. Digital X is expected to develop investment products and services tied to digital assets, make proprietary investments and build what the group describes as an “onchain finance” ecosystem using blockchain technology.
Tokenized real-world assets could be especially important to that model. Gold and silver already have established investment markets, while tokenizing electricity would push Digital X into a less mature area where blockchain could be used to represent ownership or economic claims linked to energy assets.
Investor Takeaway
Mirae Asset is not treating digital assets as a small extension of its brokerage business. The 150 trillion won target suggests it wants blockchain-based products to become a major distribution and investment channel connected to its existing client base.
Can Mirae Convert Traditional Assets Into Onchain Growth?
The scale of Mirae Asset’s existing business gives Digital X something most standalone crypto companies do not have: access to a large pool of traditional financial clients. Park said the group manages about 1,500 trillion won in client assets, providing a potential distribution base for tokenized securities, stablecoins and other blockchain-based investment products.
That does not mean those assets will automatically move onchain. Customers, regulators and institutional counterparties will still need products that offer clear economic advantages over conventional securities and payment systems. Liquidity, custody, pricing and interoperability will also determine whether tokenized assets attract meaningful volumes.
The 2027 profitability target adds another test. Building crypto infrastructure can require heavy spending on technology, cybersecurity, compliance and market liquidity before revenue reaches scale. Digital X will need to balance that investment with the group’s ambition to move quickly into several digital asset categories at once.
The possible capital raise would give the business additional resources, but its timing depends on earnings improvement. That links further expansion to Digital X’s ability to prove that the Korbit acquisition and new product strategy can generate commercial returns.
Could Digital X Become A Bridge Between Traditional And Crypto Markets?
Park’s longer-term goal is to create a global platform combining traditional and digital assets with Digital X at its center. If successful, the model could allow Mirae Asset to offer conventional securities and blockchain-based products through a more integrated financial ecosystem.
The strategy also shows how traditional financial groups are approaching crypto differently from the exchange-led model that dominated the sector’s earlier growth. Rather than relying mainly on token trading fees, Mirae Asset is exploring stablecoins, tokenization, security tokens, proprietary investment and financial products built around blockchain infrastructure.
The $109 billion target will ultimately depend on how Mirae Asset defines the size of its digital asset business and how quickly customers adopt the products Digital X develops. The acquisition of Korbit gives the group an operating platform, but the larger opportunity lies in whether it can connect that infrastructure with its existing asset-management and investment businesses.
If that integration works, Digital X could become a route for moving part of Mirae Asset’s traditional client base into tokenized finance. The harder task will be turning the group’s enormous pool of conventional assets into lasting digital asset activity rather than simply setting a large headline target.
