Upbit, the parent company of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, plans to IPO in the US after merging with Naver.

Dunamu, the parent company of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, is reportedly seeking a US listing following its merger with local tech giant Naver.

The Seoul Economic Daily reported on Monday that Dunamu hopes to conduct its initial public offering (IPO) on the tech-heavy Nasdaq after the merger, which is expected to be completed later this week.

The Chosun Ilbo, a local media outlet, reported on Monday that Dunamu and Naver plan to hold separate board meetings on Wednesday to approve the merger. If their respective boards approve, the CEOs of Dunamu and Naver will publicly detail their post-merger plans on Thursday.

Dunamu CEO Oh Kyung-seok speaks at the APEC CEO Summit in October. Source: YouTube

Upbit, South Korea's most popular cryptocurrency exchange, saw its trading volume reach $2.1 billion in the past day, according to CoinGecko data. This is roughly equivalent to its US rival Bullish's nearly $2.2 billion trading volume, which IPO'd in August.

A potential IPO for Dunamu would give Wall Street access to a highly active crypto market outside the US, which often exhibits asymmetric volatility compared to other global crypto markets.

Dunamu and Naver to Merge and Plan Stablecoin Launch

Local media reported in September that Naver Financial, Naver's fintech arm, would acquire Dunamu as a subsidiary through a share swap, pending board approval.

Naver, the country's top search engine, is known as "South Korea's Google." Much like Google, Naver also operates email hosting services, blogs, maps, and a mobile payment processor.

Naver also plans to launch a local currency stablecoin project as South Korea moves towards allowing stablecoins backed by the won, initially through banks.

Regulators must also approve the deal and will review whether the merger of the country's top cryptocurrency exchange and payment provider would create a monopoly.

The US is experiencing a cryptocurrency IPO boom.

With a more favorable policy environment for the industry, several crypto companies have gone public in the US this year.

Cryptocurrency exchanges Gemini, Bullish, and eToro went public earlier this year, although their share prices fell along with the overall crypto market.

Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group also had one of the most successful IPOs of the year in June, reaching a valuation of $18 billion on its first day of trading.