Binance completes its due diligence on the acquisition of Gopax. The exchange will soon re-enter the South Korean crypto market.
Binance completes due diligence
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, completed its due diligence on the acquisition of Gopax on Monday. The exchange will re-enter the South Korean market. Gopax is among the top five crypto exchanges in South Korea. The plan was to announce the purchase around Christmas. However, it has been delayed due to recent discussions, according to an official familiar with the matter. Binance CEO CZ was actively considering re-entering South Korea after leaving in January 2021. South Korea has one of the world’s largest crypto economies, an excellent talent pool, and a startup community that is still an attractive market for Binance. The South Korean expansion will be significant expansion to lead the wave of blockchain and web3 development.
Binance is officially coming to South Korea with the acquisition of Gopax. Binance recently completed its due diligence on the acquisition of Gopax. Discussions have reached the final stage as the exchange seeks to buy a majority stake in CEO Lee Jun-haeng, who owns a 41.2% stake in Gopax. An official familiar with the matter said, “We originally planned to announce the acquisition at Christmas last year. However, we are in the final discussions about the value of the stock,” he said. 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 alongside regular auditing. South Korea’s crypto market is dominated by Upbit with over 80% market share. However, Binance’s entry into the market could convert its market share to Gopax.
Asian expansion
Binance rapidly expanded its footprint in European and Southeast Asian countries in 2022. cryptocoin.com As we mentioned before, Binance entered the Japanese market by purchasing Sakura Exchange BitCoin (SEBC). It also acquired Indonesia-based exchange Tokocrypto in December. The Japan Virtual and Crypto Asset Exchange Association (JVCEA) has facilitated the market entry of crypto exchanges.
The acquisition marks Binance’s entry as an entity regulated by the Japan Financial Services Agency (JFSA). Also, Binance wants to actively comply with the regulator and provide better services for local users. It will also help Japan take a leading role in crypto and support a responsible global environment for cryptocurrencies.