Dunamu, Operator of Upbit, Sees 73% Drop in Q2 Profit
Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, announced its Q2 2026 performance, with quarterly revenue of 173.5 billion KRW and operating profit of 23.5 billion KRW.
Revenue and operating profit decreased by approximately 26% and 73%, respectively, compared to Q1.
In Q1, Dunamu's revenue was 234.6 billion KRW, and operating profit was 88 billion KRW.
Dunamu stated that the decline in performance this quarter was mainly due to the overall liquidity contraction in the global digital asset market, leading to weakened investor sentiment.
Transaction fees accounted for nearly 97% of revenue in the first half of the year, while customer deposits decreased by about 29.5% during the same period.
On the market side, the global contraction in crypto liquidity has driven down trading volumes, with funds flowing from high-volatility exchanges to more stable assets, putting pressure on fee-dependent platforms like Upbit, while long-term holders and institutional funds benefit from a low-volatility environment.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
Dunamu, as the operator of South Korea's largest crypto exchange Upbit, has relied on trading volume during the bull market to achieve high profit margins. In the first half of the year, fee income accounted for nearly 97%, indicating its heavy dependence on market activity rather than diversified business.
In terms of capital pathways, the company generates book profits by holding a large amount of Bitcoin and other digital assets, but incurs revaluation losses during market downturns. Resources are mainly invested in maintaining the trading platform and compliance, motivated by the desire to maintain a dominant position in the South Korean market while waiting for the next round of liquidity recovery.
Similar cases can be seen with Coinbase experiencing significant profit fluctuations during bear markets and Binance's fee income shrinking with trading volumes. Dunamu is currently in a cyclical contraction phase of the crypto industry, shifting from high-growth expansion to cost control and customer retention.
The structural judgment indicates a transfer of pricing power: exchange profits are directly linked to global liquidity and investor sentiment, with the mechanism being that the fee model quickly becomes ineffective in low-volatility environments, forcing the industry to restructure towards higher value-added businesses such as asset management and derivatives.
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