The South Korean securities heavyweight Korea Investment & Securities is reportedly exploring a deal to acquire Coinone, South Korea’s third biggest crypto exchange.

KIS’ holding company, Korea Investment Holdings, has an estimated market cap of up to $8.5 billion. Experts say KIS and domestic rivals are pivoting to crypto as they have grown tired of waiting for the government to roll out tokenisation legislation.

Brokerages have put their tokenisation plans on hold as they await legislation-related developments in the National Assembly, an…