The largest cryptocurrency exchange has returned to the South Korean cryptocurrency market, which it left two years ago. Binance has acquired a majority stake in local crypto exchange GOPAX.
The deal was financed by the Binance Industry Recovery Initiative, the budget of the investment project is $1 billion.
The South Korean cryptocurrency market experienced difficulties last year due to the collapse of the TerraUSD algorithmic stablecoin ecosystem, which led to the loss of money by many local investors.
In November, GOPAX faced a lack of liquidity when, due to a massive capital outflow and market panic caused by the collapse of the FTX exchange, it was forced to partially suspend withdrawals from GOPAX GoFi products. The partner for the profitable product offered by GOPAX was the bankrupt crypto lender Genesis. The parent company of the American crypto lender, Digital Currency Group is the second largest shareholder of GOPAX.
GOPAX was not able to get out of the financial crisis on its own and began to look for external co-financing through the sale of a stake in the company.
Binance representatives announced that the goal of acquiring a stake in the GOPAX exchange is to “support and return the trust of customers by injecting capital and giving them the opportunity to manage their assets.”
Binance closed its operations in South Korea in 2021, citing low activity and insufficient transaction volumes. However, at the end of 2022, it expanded its presence in Asia by purchasing the Japanese Sakura Exchange BitCoin. The deal to buy Binance out of the GOPAX exchange is seen by the crypto community as a step towards the recovery of the Korean crypto and blockchain industry.
Source: Bits
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