Song Chi-hyung, founder of Dunamu.
FILIP PERAIC
Two of the largest shareholders in Dunamu, the operator of South Korea’s dominant cryptocurrency exchange, are the first two people in the country from the crypto industry to become billionaires as the value of their startup skyrocketed 21-fold in less than a year.
Last week, Hybe, the agency behind K-pop sensation BTS, bought a 2.5% stake in Dunamu for 500 billion won (about $400 million), valuing the crypto startup at $17 billion. The new valuation makes Dunamu one of the highest-valued startups in Korea, and its founder and chairman, Song Chi-hyung, and executive vice president Kim Hyoung-nyon new billionaires. Forbes estimates that Song, 42, owns about a quarter of Dunamu, while Kim, 45, owns around 13%. At Dunamu’s new valuation, Song’s stake in the almost 10-year-old startup is worth $3.8 billion; Kim’s is worth $2 billion. (Forbes applies a 10% discount to private company valuations.)