Dunamu, the South Korean fintech company and operator of the country’s largest crypto exchange Upbit, rebutted claims that it profited by over 130 billion Korean won (US$105 million) off of LUNA Classic last year.
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Fast facts
- Last week, multiple local media reports alleged Dunamu earned a profit of about US$105 million from a 2018 investment in Luna Classic (LUNC), which had the name LUNA at the time.
- Dunamu & Partners, the company’s investment arm, reportedly purchased about 20 million LUNC tokens in April 2018 for about 3.24 billion Korean won (US$2.61 million), with each worth around US$0.13.
- The company’s crypto exchange Upbit listed the LUNC coin in 2019 on its BTC market, while publicly notifying that it held the cryptocurrency for investment purposes.
- Local media reported that Dunamu & Partners sold all 20 million LUNC in February last year.
- Reports also suggested that Dunamu founder and chairman Song Chi-hyung and executive vice president and second major shareholder Kim Hyoung-nyon participated in the founding of Dunamu & Partners.
- Dunamu said on Tuesday Dunamu & Partners’ decision to invest in LUNC was independently taken although the parent company was made aware of the decision.
- It also said Dunamu swapped LUNC into 2081.8500 Bitcoins on a foreign exchange at a 25% discount to the then market price.
- Dunamu still holds the swapped Bitcoin and provided the wallet addresses of the same in the announcement.
- The company also clarified that South Korea does not allow corporations to trade crypto with the Korean won, and re-appraised the unrealized profit to 41 billion won, or about US$33 million, after investment costs and the taxes were paid out.
According to Dunamu, LUNC was a prominent investment at the time, and it has maintained transparency over that investment.
See related article: Two crypto exchanges reach unicorn status in South Korea
