Technology group Naver has backed New York-based stablecoin payments provider Reign to enter the US crypto infrastructure market through its first investment in the space. The move comes as the company prepares for a delayed integration with Dunam, which operates South Korea’s Upbit exchange.
According to the Korea Economic Newspaper, Naver Ventures participated in Rain’s $250 million Series C funding in January. However, the exact investment amount has not been made public. ICONIQ led the round, valuing Rain at $1.95 billion, bringing total capital raised to more than $338 million.
Rain expands Naver’s stablecoin payment scope
Essentially, Rain builds an infrastructure that allows companies to issue stablecoin-linked cards, wallets, cross-border payments, and services that convert between traditional currencies and digital assets. As a core member of Visa, Rain supports cards accepted across Visa’s global merchant network while settling payment activities through the stablecoin rail.
The company reported annual transaction value of more than $3 billion among more than 200 partners. Customers include Western Union, Nuvei, KAST, and more. Rain also said the company’s active card base has grown 30x in the past year, with annual payment value increasing 38x.
Its programs have processed transactions in more than 150 countries. Naver already operates Naver Pay and is expanding access to overseas merchants through partners such as international payment platform Alipay+.
Regulatory delays restructure Dunum merger schedule
This investment also comes as Naver Financial moves forward with its planned merger with Dunamu. In November, the two companies agreed to complete an all-stock exchange that will make Dunamu a wholly-owned subsidiary of Naver Financial.
The deal values Dunam at 15.13 trillion won, or about $10.3 billion. Under the proposed terms, shareholders will receive 2,542,618 Naver Financial shares for each Dunamu share.
Once completed, the transaction will integrate Naver Pay’s payment services with Dunamu’s blockchain expertise and Upbit’s digital asset platform. Naver Financial currently serves more than 34 million users, with annual payments exceeding KRW 80 trillion.
The two companies also plan to invest 10 trillion won over five years in artificial intelligence, Web3, and blockchain projects. However, the merger schedule has already been revised twice as regulatory reviews continue.
The shareholder vote was rescheduled for November 19th, and the share exchange was postponed until December 31st. South Korean regulators are still investigating competition, ownership and digital asset concerns related to the deal.
Naver also warned that the provisions of the proposed Digital Asset Basic Law could affect the structure of the merger or prevent its completion.
Related: Naver to acquire Upbit operator Dunum in a $10.3 billion stock exchange
