Naver Financial to Acquire Upbit Operator in $10B Deal

Klarna to Launch USD-Backed Stablecoin| Polymarket Wins CFTC Approval

Marco Manoppo & Karon Pangestu
November 26, 2025

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Good Morning.

Naver Financial has confirmed a major move. It’s merging with Dunamu, the company behind Upbit, through a multibillion-dollar stock swap. The deal makes Dunamu a full Naver subsidiary and signals that Korea’s biggest tech names are now treating digital assets as a core part of their future.

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In Today's Email:

What Matters: Naver Financial to Acquire Upbit Operator in $10B Deal 🇰🇷
Case Study: Polymarket Wins CFTC Approval 🔎
Governance & Features: Klarna to Launch USD-Backed Stablecoin 👀

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Narratives: Payment Stablecoins

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WHAT MATTERS

Naver Financial to Acquire Upbit Operator in $10B Deal

Source: The Korea Economic Daily

State of play: Naver Financial has officially confirmed its plan to merge with Dunamu, the company behind Upbit, through a stock-swap deal. Dunamu will become a wholly owned subsidiary as Naver pushes deeper into digital finance.

The exchange ratio is set at 2.5422618 Naver shares per Dunamu share, with the deal taking effect June 30, 2026.
To complete the merger, Naver will issue 87.56M new shares valued at roughly 15.13T won, or about $10.28B.
The companies say the move will strengthen their strategic and operational cooperation.
Local reports suggest an Upbit Nasdaq IPO may follow, though this has not been confirmed.
Naver reported 3.14T won in revenue last quarter, while Dunamu posted strong growth, with revenue up 35% and net profit up 145%.

Why it matters: Naver’s move to fully acquire Dunamu brings Korea’s biggest tech player and its biggest crypto exchange under one roof.

Our take: Naver gets a direct foothold in the country’s most active crypto market, while Dunamu gains a stronger path to global expansion

For builders and investors: Expect tighter integration between fintech and crypto services in Korea. New products, smoother onramps, and bigger institutional participation are likely to follow.

CASE STUDY

Polymarket Wins CFTC Approval

Polymarket has received an amended designation from the CFTC, clearing the way for its official return to the US as a fully regulated prediction-market platform.

The approval lets US users access Polymarket through FCMs and traditional brokerages, putting it in line with other federally supervised exchanges.
The platform must meet full compliance standards, including enhanced surveillance, clearing procedures, and Part 16 reporting.
Polymarket had planned a November relaunch after blocking US users in 2022 due to regulatory pressure.

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INSIGHTS

USDe TVL Drops 50%

sUSDe Yield / Source: DefiLlama

Ethena’s USDe stablecoin has seen its TVL fall from $14.8B to $7.6B, a decline driven mostly by the unwinding of heavy leverage loops across DeFi. Even with TVL down, onchain usage stayed strong, with more than $50B in monthly transaction volume.

USDe’s yield has slipped to about 5.1% as perpetual funding rates cooled, falling below the 5.4% cost of borrowing USDC on Aave.
This flipped the carry trade that powered USDe’s rapid growth, prompting users to exit leveraged looping strategies that reached 10x exposure.
The episode shows how quickly yield-bearing stablecoins can contract when leverage becomes unprofitable, with the same mechanics that boosted TVL now accelerating outflows.

FEATURES & GOVERNANCE UPDATE

Klarna to Launch USD-Backed Stablecoin

Klarna is launching a US dollar-backed stablecoin called KlarnaUSD, becoming the latest major payments company to move deeper into digital assets. The stablecoin is in testing now and is set to go live on mainnet in 2026, fully backed by USD reserves.

Klarna plans to use it for everyday payments and cross-border transfers, aiming to offer faster and cheaper transactions than traditional banking.
KlarnaUSD will run on Tempo, a payments-focused blockchain built by Stripe and Paradigm.
Klarna’s move follows similar launches from PayPal and Stripe, as stablecoin adoption rises and regulators roll out clearer rules.

Other notable feature updates:

Aave V4 testnet is now live.
MegaETH introduced Frontier.
Revolut has integrated Polygon.
WardenChain launched Mainnet.
Phantom launches Phantom Terminal.
Based launched its Polymarket integration.
Ethereum researchers proposed the Ethereum Interop Layer (EIL).

QUICK BITES

Bancorp tests stablecoin on Stellar.
BTC perp accounts turn heavily long.
Kevin Hassett rises to the front in Fed Chair search.
Yield compression triggers 50% TVL drop in USDe.
Spot Solana ETFs log 20 consecutive days of net inflows since debut.
Polymarket allowed to resume US operations following CFTC reversal.
Polymarket allowed to resume US operations following CFTC reversal.
Texas reportedly kicks off state bitcoin reserve with $5M IBIT purchase.
MoonPay joins rarified list of dual Bitlicense and NY Trust Charter holders.
Klarna announces USD stablecoin on Stripe–Paradigm's Tempo blockchain.
Robinhood to launch new derivatives exchange for prediction markets push.

NOTEWORTHY READS & MEME

Pillage Capital’s read on Crypto Exodus.
Unchained’s read on Berachain’s refund clause.
Wintermute’s read on Week 4 November Crypto Update.

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Disclaimer: All the information presented in this publication and its affiliates is strictly for educational purposes only. It should not be construed or taken as financial, legal, investment, or any other form of advice.