A Korean company that hoarded coins using strategy, from a bull market to delisting?

Author: Chloe, ChainCatcher

The KOSPI index has surged about 95% since the beginning of the year, nearly doubling. Just as the South Korean stock market is booming, another group of South Korean listed companies is gradually being squeezed out of the market.

According to the Chosun Ilbo, South Korea's revised listing regulations to raise the market retention threshold have been implemented since July 1. Some KOSDAQ DAT listed companies that have profited from investing in cryptocurrency assets are facing delisting risks. They are dealing with plummeting cryptocurrency prices while also suffering from capital outflows in the KOSDAQ market, with their market values continuously falling below the new thresholds, making them susceptible to being kicked out of the market at any time.

South Korean Government Tightens Policies, Maintaining Listing Status Will Be Difficult

DAT was initiated by Strategy, followed by Japan's Metaplanet in the capital market, and South Korean DAT companies are replicating the same script. Taking BitPlanet as an example, this company was acquired in July 2025 by a consortium led by Asia Strategy and Sora Ventures and currently holds 300 bitcoins, with a long-term goal of accumulating 10,000; its CEO Lee Seong-hoon publicly stated that the inspiration for the company's model comes from Strategy and Metaplanet.

The problem is that this "issuing shares to raise funds, buying coins, and stock price rising" flywheel heavily relies on rising coin prices; once coin prices reverse, many of these small and medium-sized DAT companies in South Korea will first face the hurdle of "can they maintain their listing status" rather than financing.

According to the Herald Business, this reform has tightened the four major delisting criteria comprehensively, with the most lethal impact on DAT companies being the market value threshold. The market value standard for maintaining a KOSDAQ listing has increased from the current 15 billion won to 20 billion won (over 13 million USD), and will rise again to 30 billion won in January next year.

The new determination mechanism is quite strict: if a stock's price remains below 1,000 won for 30 consecutive trading days, or if its market value remains below 20 billion won for 30 consecutive trading days, it will be designated as "caution stock"; once designated, there is a 90 trading day recovery period, and if it fails to meet the standard for 45 consecutive trading days during this period, it will officially enter the delisting process. The key is that both the stock price and market value criteria must be met "simultaneously"; if either one fails, it is sufficient to constitute grounds for delisting.

At the same time, the previously common "stock price manipulation tricks" used by companies have also been blocked. In the past, when stock prices were too low and nearing the delisting line, companies could consolidate several shares into one, which would immediately inflate the price per share, but the overall value of the company would remain unchanged. The Herald Business explains that the new regulations aim to close this loophole: for example, a company with a stock price of 300 won could raise its price to 1,200 won through consolidation, but if the adjusted per-share value remains low, it will still be listed for delisting. Additionally, companies that have already undergone a consolidation or capital reduction in the past year are not allowed to use the same tactic again once placed on the watch list; even if they can, the consolidation ratio cannot exceed 10 to 1.

Other criteria have also been tightened: the timing for assessing whether a company has completely lost capital has expanded from only looking at year-end financial reports to also including semi-annual reports; the delisting penalty points threshold accumulated due to false financial reports or violations has been reduced from 15 points to 10 points, and a single significant or intentional violation is sufficient to trigger a review; after being placed under delisting review, the maximum improvement period a company can seek has been shortened from 18 months to 1 year.

KOSDAQ Itself Is Weak, Coupled with Weakness in the Cryptocurrency Market

According to the Chosun Ilbo, the delisting risk is no longer hypothetical. Many companies are currently in a temporarily "compliant but unsafe" situation: Parataxis Ethereum has a market value of about 26.8 billion won, and BitPlanet about 33.1 billion won, both above the 20 billion won threshold for the second half of the year, but Parataxis Ethereum faces potential risks when compared to the 30 billion won standard set for January next year. The worst situation is with Parataxis Korea, which was already placed under substantial review for listing eligibility due to capital loss back in April, and its stock has been suspended. The Chosun Ilbo points out that if the trend of declining market value continues, these DAT companies may begin to face delisting procedures starting from BitMax in early next year.

Looking back, the direct trigger for this crisis is the weakening of coin prices. According to Bloomingbit, Bitcoin surged to over $120,000 last July under the influence of the pro-crypto policies of the Trump administration during its second term; however, it has fallen back since October last year, when the US-China trade friction marked a turning point, and has dropped to the latter part of $50,000 this month. Due to the decline in coin prices in both the first and second quarters of this year, DAT companies must recognize large-scale valuation losses on their books, and the impact on stock prices during the financial reporting season may be even greater.

To make matters worse, KOSDAQ itself is weak. While the KOSPI has nearly doubled (up about 95%) this year, KOSDAQ has actually declined by about 10%, with funds concentrating on KOSPI heavyweight stocks like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, marginalizing KOSDAQ and its DAT companies. These companies have attempted to fill funding gaps by issuing convertible bonds (CB) and preferred stocks, but cannot withstand the overall decline in cryptocurrency asset prices.

The overall weakness of KOSDAQ is evident in the numbers. The Herald Business reports that the KOSDAQ index fell from 945.57 at the beginning of January to 851.37 last Friday, a decline of nearly 10%, dragging down the market values of constituent stocks. As of last week, excluding SPACs and special stocks, there were 178 KOSDAQ companies with a market value of less than 20 billion won, accounting for about 10% of the total 1,748 companies, a nearly threefold increase from 66 companies at the beginning of the year; there are also 180 "penny stocks" with prices below 1,000 won, with a total market value of up to 6.14 trillion won.

The Herald Business also cites data from the Korea Exchange, indicating that in June (from the 1st to the 26th), all 39 KOSDAQ industries closed in the red, with the KOSDAQ150 industry leading the decline at -35.47%, while financials (-32.63%), technology-listed companies (-32.19%), and transportation equipment and parts (-31.11%) also saw declines exceeding 30%.

Conclusion

For these micro-sized companies, the space for self-rescue through financial engineering is being compressed. The Herald Business quotes industry views that the new "market value requirement" will be harder to meet than the "stock price requirement." A person from a KOSDAQ listed company admits that penny stocks can at least rely on unpaid capital reductions and stock consolidations to prop up their prices, but it is difficult to meet the market value requirement without a substantial increase in stock prices; it is also not easy to rely on mergers and acquisitions for a quick fix as long as KOSDAQ remains sluggish, and the number of companies unable to meet the market value threshold will only increase.

A representative example is Hyungji I&C (형지I&C), which conducted a 10 to 1 unpaid stock consolidation in March, raising its stock price to nearly 4,000 won, but its market value remains around 10.6 billion won, far below the new threshold, indicating that even if the stock price temporarily meets the standard, it still fails to pass the market value hurdle. The Chosun Ilbo also emphasizes that the revised listing regulations contain provisions that restrict capital reductions and consolidations after being designated as caution stocks, making it even more difficult for companies without a substantial rebound in stock prices to remain in the market.

Officials from the Korea Exchange downplay the impact, stating that there will not be an immediate wave of delistings in July, as companies listed as caution stocks still have a period for improvement before moving to the next step. However, brokerage analysts' judgments are more pessimistic. Yuanta Securities (유안타증권) analyst Lee Jae-won states that, from the perspectives of supply and demand, profitability, and interest rates, the current environment is favorable for KOSPI; until personal funds return and profit forecasts rebound, KOSDAQ's relative weakness is likely to continue.

In other words, while the overall momentum of the South Korean stock market is strong, this group of cryptocurrency concept stocks branded as "Korean version of Strategy" is at a crossroads of survival and demise under the triple pressure of falling coin prices, market capital, and new regulatory rules.