Exclusive: Naver Makes First Investment in US Crypto Payments Firm Rain Ahead of Merger

Joins Rain’s $250 Million Series C Round

Expands Naver Pay’s Overseas Payments Network

Could Reach Merchants in 150 Countries

Naver has invested in Rain, a US digital-asset payments infrastructure company, as it prepares to expand into stablecoin payments. The strategy hinges on Rain’s technology, which connects the Visa network with stablecoin transactions. Naver also expects synergies if the delayed merger between Naver Financial and Dunamu is completed.

Industry officials said on July 14 that Naver Ventures, the company’s Silicon Valley investment arm, recently joined Rain’s $250 million Series C funding round. It was Naver Ventures’ first investment in a crypto company. The size of its investment was not disclosed.

Founded in 2021, Rain has drawn attention for infrastructure that enables stablecoin-based payments through the existing Visa card network. Rain is also a principal member of Visa, allowing it to handle card issuance and settlement directly with Visa without a bank intermediary.

When a Rain-issued card is used at a Visa merchant, the user’s stablecoins are automatically converted into local currency and settled to the merchant. Wyoming’s state government also partnered with Rain to boost the use of its stablecoin, FRNT, and launched a physical payment card for stablecoin spending last year.

Naver’s investment is aimed at taking the stablecoin payments business that Naver Financial plans to pursue after merging with Dunamu into global markets. Alongside remittances, crypto-based payments are considered a key future growth business. A fintech industry official said stablecoin-based payment, settlement and remittance services push settlement costs close to zero, and that combining stablecoins with Naver Pay’s payment network could have a major impact on the fintech industry.

Naver is also moving to expand Naver Pay’s payment network overseas, with more than 80% of its payment volume still generated in South Korea as of last year. Naver Financial has been increasing its overseas merchant base through partnerships including Alipay+. Combined with Rain’s technology, stablecoin-based payments could be processed immediately at about 150 million Visa merchants across 150 countries.

The key variable is the outcome of the merger review involving Naver Financial and Dunamu. The review has stalled at agencies including the Fair Trade Commission, South Korea’s antitrust regulator. Since the merger was announced in November 2025, the timing of the share swap between the two companies has already been postponed twice because of delays in the review.

The Regulatory Reform Committee, a presidential advisory body, has scheduled the matter for review by its growth subcommittee on July 24. The panel is examining proposed revisions to the enforcement decree of the Act on Reporting and Use of Specific Financial Transaction Information. It will consider whether a 200 million won ($145,000) fine imposed in September 2025 affects eligibility to qualify as a major shareholder. The issue stems from a court ruling that Naver violated fair-trade law by attaching conditions to listings on its real-estate platform that prevented them from being provided to Kakao and others. A crypto industry official said Naver is preparing to enter the digital-asset market on the assumption that the merger will go through, and a failed merger could also affect its investment business.

Heo Jin, Korea Economic Daily reporter, hjin@hankyung.com