Mirae Asset Financial Group headquarters in Seoul (Mirae Asset Financial Group) Mirae Asset Financial Group announced Thursday that its acquisition of local cryptocurrency exchange Korbit has received regulatory approval from the country's antitrust watchdog, clearing the way for the group to strengthen its digital asset capabilities.In February, Mirae Asset Consulting, an affiliate of the group, agreed to acquire a 92.06 percent stake in Korbit, one of South Korea's five won-based cryptocurrency exchanges, for 133.5 billion won ($88.8 million), citing the need to secure new growth drivers in the digital asset sector. The deal marks the first acquisition of a cryptocurrency exchange by a financial group here.The Fair Trade Commission approved the acquisition, determining that the transaction was unlikely to substantially lessen competition in the relevant market.The decision was based largely on Korbit's limited market presence. The exchange accounted for just 0.5 percent of trading volume last year, far behind market leader Upbit, which held a 69 percent share, followed by Bithumb with 28 percent.Given the retail investor-driven nature of Korea's cryptocurrency market, where investors tend to prioritize trading liquidity over transaction fees, the FTC concluded that Korbit's current level of liquidity was too limited for the acquisition to have a meaningful impact on competition.Despite Korbit's limited market share, Mirae Asset viewed the acquisition as a strategic move to establish a foothold in the digital asset market. The company said it plans to combine its global investment capabilities in securities and asset management with Korbit's digital asset infrastructure."The acquisition represents Mirae Asset's push to blur the lines between traditional and digital assets while building a new financial infrastructure that connects the global investment ecosystem," the group said.As Korea moves forward with digital asset-related legislation and the introduction of security token offerings, the group plans to gradually roll out a broad range of digital financial services, including stablecoins, custody, real-world asset tokenization, digital payments and custody solutions.The group also plans to expand its institutional services as Korea gradually opens its digital asset market to institutional participation, offering research, investment insights, custody, security and operational support.Mirae Asset also said that Korbit will serve as a key pillar of its global expansion as the group's goal is to build an integrated investment ecosystem that enables domestic and overseas clients to seamlessly access both traditional and digital assets across borders within a single platform."Digital assets are no longer merely a short-term investment vehicle for a limited group of investors but have emerged as a new asset class in the global financial industry," a Mirae Asset official said."By combining Korbit's digital asset trading infrastructure with Mirae Asset's strengths in risk management, internal controls and investor protection, we aim to set a new standard for the global asset management industry and contribute to building a more trusted digital asset ecosystem in Korea."