Beware CZ, Justin Sun: 2025 Introduces Two Fresh South Korean Crypto Billionaires to the Scene
South Korea has discreetly generated two new digital currency billionaires, placing them alongside Changpeng “CZ” Zhao and Justin Sun.
Song Chi-hyung and Kim Hyoung-nyon, the co-founders of Upbit operator Dunamu Inc., achieved billionaire status in 2025 after finalizing the sale of their company last week. The purchaser is Naver Financial, a subsidiary of the South Korean technology behemoth Naver. The transaction is an all-stock deal valued at approximately 15.13 trillion won, or $10.27Bn.
Naver Corp. has agreed to acquire Dunamu Inc., operator of South Korea’s largest crypto trading platform Upbit, in a stock deal estimated at about $10.3 billionhttps://t.co/kGlATPFz3n
— Sidhartha Shukla (@s1dc01n.bsky.social) (@sidcoins) November 26, 2025
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What Is Song and Kim’s Standing Among Global Crypto Founders?
This is one of the largest digital currency transactions in Asia this year, illustrating the increasing commitment of major South Korean tech firms to digital assets and payment solutions.
In the share trading protocol, Song will possess roughly 19% of the merged entity, valuing that share at $2.7Bn. Kim is set to hold around 10%, approximating $1.4Bn. These figures originate from company filings that value the combined entity at about $13.6Bn.
This agreement propels both founders into the upper echelon of global crypto asset wealth, a domain long occupied by exchange leaders such as Changpeng Zhao from Binance and Justin Sun, the creator of Tron.
Zhao’s net worth is currently estimated to exceed $60Bn. Sun’s wealth is generally assessed between $10Bn and $12Bn, bolstered by public wallet activity and holdings associated with TRX and other cryptocurrencies. Although Song and Kim haven’t reached that magnitude yet, the transaction highlights another development. South Korea’s leading trading platform has birthed a new class of regional crypto influential figures.
Additionally, it indicates that significant exchange wealth is no longer confined to the US, Europe, or overseas hubs.
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Can Bithumb’s Fee Reductions Truly Compete With Upbit’s Crypto market Dominance?
The all-stock acquisition stems from over ten years of effort. The duo founded their company, Dunamu, in 2012 after their tenure at the payments company Danal.
They gained early support from Kakao and local investors, subsequently launching the Upbit exchange in 2017. Its close relationship with KakaoTalk, the primary messaging application in the country, facilitated rapid adoption.
This approach established Upbit as South Korea’s largest crypto asset exchange, handling approximately 70–72% of all domestic trading, according to industry estimates.
Data from CoinLaw suggests Upbit accounted for about 71.6% of Korea’s crypto trading volume in the first half of 2025, with average daily trading close to ₩4.6 trillion, or about $3.4Bn.
Its influence now extends beyond Korea. Upbit commands nearly 5% of global spot trading, a rise from just 1.4% in early 2021. It also serves 5 to 8 million active users, based on accumulated crypto market evaluations.
In the past 24 hours alone, CoinGecko data indicates the exchange processed approximately $1.7Bn in trades, with the most active markets being XRP/KRW, BTC/KRW, and ETH/KRW.
This deal may intensify competition in South Korea’s already saturated trading landscape. Despite rival Bithumb reducing fees and increasing its share to nearly 30%, Upbit still maintains around 70%.
A unified Naver-Dunamu group could possess substantial control over pricing, listings, and where regular traders choose to invest their money.
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The article Watch Out CZ, Justin Sun: 2025 Put Two New South Korean Crypto Billionaires on the Block first appeared on 99Bitcoins.
