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has acquired a majority stake in South Korean crypto exchange GOPAX, re-entering the country's crypto market having withdrawn from it two years ago.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

  • What Do EigenLayer's Outflows of $2.3B Signal?
    00:57
    What Do EigenLayer's Outflows of $2.3B Signal?
  • What Do TradFi Crypto Moves Mean for Decentralization?
    04:20
    What Do TradFi Crypto Moves Mean for Decentralization?
  • Marathon Digital Buys $100M BTC; India's Special Task Force for Crypto-Related Drug Trafficking
    02:02
    Marathon Digital Buys $100M BTC; India's Special Task Force for Crypto-Related Drug Trafficking
  • Ether Slides as Grayscale's ETHE Outflows Ramp Up
    00:53
    Ether Slides as Grayscale's ETHE Outflows Ramp Up
  • 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.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

    Jamie Crawley

    Jamie Crawley is a CoinDesk news reporter based in London.