[FlowTracer] Bithumb Buys a Gangnam Building, and Mirae Asset Buys Korbit — Two Paths of Coin Money

In June 2025, Bithumb acquired a 50% stake in KB Gangnam Office Entrusted Management Real Estate Investment Company for KRW 154.1 billion. The disclosed purpose of the acquisition is 'to secure necessary lease space and maximize long-term investment returns'. Eight months later, in February 2026, Mirae Asset Consulting acquired a 92.06% stake in Korbit for KRW 133.5 billion.

Bithumb headed for real estate, while Mirae Asset Consulting bought exchange shares. Even though it was the same virtual asset-related funds, their destinations were different. Looking only at major transactions confirmed through public disclosures, both direct investments and mezzanine financing appear together.

Bithumb Goes to Real Estate, Mirae Asset Chooses an Exchange

In June 2025, Bithumb acquired a 50% stake (3,852,500 shares) in KB Gangnam Office No. 1 Entrusted Management Real Estate Investment Company for KRW 154.1 billion. It is a structure where they become a co-owner of half the building while simultaneously securing lease space. The purpose stated in the public disclosure was also to secure lease space and maximize investment returns.

In February 2026, Mirae Asset Consulting acquired a 92.06% stake in Korbit for KRW 133.5 billion. It is a transaction that goes beyond simple equity investment, effectively securing management rights. The disclosed purpose of the acquisition is 'securing future growth engines based on digital assets'.

Satoshi Holdings' Repeated Fundraising

From April 2024 to February 2026, Satoshi Holdings recorded 5 CB issuance cases (totaling KRW 74.7 billion) and 1 direct investment (KRW 7 billion). Instead of raising large-scale funds all at once, it is characterized by issuing small CBs in multiple tranches. Repeated mezzanine financing is observed within the same company.

Including GenNBio's investment in Tyco Industry (KRW 24 billion), both direct investments and mezzanine financing appear together in major virtual asset-related transactions. For large-scale deals in the hundreds of billions of won, such as Bithumb and Korbit, direct investments were used, whereas for small and medium-sized fundraising, such as Satoshi Holdings, CBs appeared more frequently. The form of funding also differed depending on the transaction size.

Funds Headed for Regional Trading Infrastructure

Focus AI invested KRW 12.2 billion in the Busan Digital Asset Exchange in January 2026. Although not a hundred-billion-won transaction like those of Bithumb and Korbit, it stands out in that virtual asset-related funds also headed to regional trading infrastructure outside of Seoul. Virtual asset-related investments were not limited to large-scale exchange deals.

Bithumb's investment in a Gangnam office in June 2025 and Mirae Asset Consulting's acquisition of Korbit in February 2026 show that virtual asset-related funds moved in different directions. One side headed toward real assets, while the other side headed toward a trading platform.

This article was written based on Flow Tracer, created by News Epoch to track capital flows in the Korean VC/PE market.