Dunamu named preferred bidder for South Korea police seized crypto custody contract

Dunamu, the operator of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, ranked first in the Korean National Police Agency’s bidding process for a one-year contract to store and manage digital assets seized during criminal investigations. Procurement records showed Dunamu scored 94.73 points, made up of 84.73 in the technical evaluation and a full 10 points on price, ahead of a joint bid by Korea Digital Asset Custody and Korbit at 91.29 and Hecto Wallet One at 87.27. If contract talks with Dunamu are completed successfully, lower-ranked bidders will not be considered. The contract is valued at KRW 267 million, or roughly $193,000, but industry participants say the more important prize is control of the state’s seized digital assets. Criticism from losing bidders revived concerns that requirements such as immediate full custody of seized assets, a 24-hour response team and 100% loss coverage favored large exchange operators with stronger balance sheets and insurance capacity over pure-play custodians. Police have said the operator was selected through fair competition. The agency reached this stage only after four attempts. The first 2025 tender drew no bidders, the second failed because only one firm applied, and the third ended with no participant clearing the 85-point technical threshold. The budget was then raised from KRW 83 million to KRW 267 million, a 3.2-fold increase, and the fourth round drew seven firms including BDACS, KODA, KDAC, Upbit’s custody arm, Hecto Wallet One, DSRV and AhnLab Blockchain Company. The push to appoint a professional custodian followed security lapses in which about 320 Bitcoin went missing from the Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office in January and 22 Bitcoin disappeared from assets seized in 2021 in a case disclosed by Gangnam police in February. Over five years, South Korean police have seized an estimated KRW 54.5 billion in crypto assets.