Binance Re-Enters South Korea by Buying Majority Stake in Crypto Exchange GOPAX

The acquisition sees Binance re-enter the South Korean market, having closed its affiliate there in December 2020 due to low usage.

AccessTimeIconFeb 3, 2023 at 10:12 a.m. UTC
Updated May 9, 2023 at 4:07 a.m. UTC

Binance has acquired a majority stake in South Korean crypto exchange GOPAX, re-entering the country's crypto market having withdrawn from it two years ago.

The world's largest crypto exchange by trading volume closed its affiliate in South Korea in December 2020 due to low usage. Terms for the deal were not disclosed.

Binance's investment in GOPAX came via the Industry Recovery Initiative, which Binance leads and committed $1 billion to in November, in response to the fallout from the collapse of FTX.

Bloomberg had earlier reported on the deal.

GOPAX's parent firm Streami Inc., in which CoinDesk parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG) became the second-largest shareholder in 2021, is one of the largest creditors of bankrupt crypto lender Genesis, which is also a DCG subsidiary.

Following Genesis' suspension of withdrawals in November, GOPAX did the same with its yield product GoFi.

The capital from Binance will allow withdrawals and interest payments to recommence on GOPAX.

UPDATE (Feb. 3, 12:00 UTC): Adds link to Binance announcement and removes Bloomberg reference.


DISCLOSURE

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.

Jamie Crawley

Jamie Crawley is a CoinDesk news reporter based in London.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk’s longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.