The world’s largest crypto exchange Binance on Monday completed due diligence on the acquisition of Gopax and will re-enter the South Korean market. Gopax is among the top five crypto exchanges in South Korea. The plan was to announce the acquisition around Christmas, but delayed due to final discussions, as per an official familiar with the matter.
Binance To Acquire Gopax For South Korea’s Entry
Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao was actively looking to re-enter South Korea after it exited in January 2021. South Korea has one of the world’s largest crypto economies, an excellent talent pool, and a startup community, which is still an attractive market for Binance. The South Korean expansion will be the most important for Binance to establish leadership in the next wave of blockchain and web3 developments.
Binance is officially coming to South Korea by acquiring Gopax, reported Wu Blockchain on January 2. Binance has recently completed due diligence on the acquisition of Gopax. The discussions have reached the final stage as Binance looks to buy a majority stake from CEO Lee Jun-haeng, who has a 41.2% stake in Gopax.
“We originally planned to announce the acquisition around Christmas last year, but we are in the process of final discussions on the value of the stake,” said an official familiar with the matter.
South Korean financial authorities have strict requirements for foreign virtual asset operators for reasons such as anti-money laundering and investor protection. After the Terra-LUNA crisis, crypto companies have significantly strict guidelines to follow, along with the regular inspection.
South Korea’s crypto market is dominated by Upbit with over 80% market share. However, Binance’s entry into the market could turn the market share towards Gopax.
Binance’s Expansion in Southeast Asia
Binance rapidly expanded its footprint in European and Southeast Asian countries in 2022. On November 30 last year, Binance entered the Japanese market through the acquisition of Sakura Exchange BitCoin (SEBC). Moreover, it acquired the Indonesia-based exchange Tokocrypto in December.
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