Binance Buys Majority in South Korean Exchange GOPAX

• Binance bought 41.2% of crypto exchange GOPAX to return to South Korea.

• Binance announced that the investment is part of the Industry Recovery Initiative (IRI).

• GOPAX faced difficulties last November due to its relationship with Genesis Global.
• An ultimatum from the authorities made Binance discontinue its trading pairs and payment options.

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has ventured into South Korea again as part of its global expansion strategy. In accordance reportBinance bought a 41.2% stake in the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange GOPAX.

However, according to recent announcement from Binance, the investment is part of the Industry Recovery Initiative (IRI).

GOPAX problems experienced Last November due to his relationship with trading service provider Genesis Global Capital, LLC. As a result, the Korea-based crypto exchange stopped collecting principal and interest payments on its platform, GOFI.

According to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ), IRI is designed to help ‘promising companies’ affected by last year’s events.

“The Industry Recovery Initiative was created to support promising companies that were negatively impacted by the events of last year,” Zhao stated. “We hope that taking this step with GOPAX will further rebuild the Korean crypto and blockchain industry.”

As reported, Binance will work closely with GOPAX to increase user education and blockchain awareness as well as work closely with South Korean regulators and virtual asset stakeholders to support the local ecosystem with Binance’s technology and liquidity.

Binance Enters South Korea for the First Time Since 2021

In late 2021, Binance discontinued trading pairs and their payment options in South Korea. It comes after the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit issued an ultimatum for crypto exchanges to register in line with new anti-money laundering laws or risk criminal charges. Binance claims to operate within the regulatory landscape of the country.

With the recent investment, Binance can return to South Korea to provide cryptocurrency services via GOPAX.

Binance has invested in various projects in addition to recent acquisitions. Recently, the exchange made a strategic investment in the NGRAVE hardware wallet builder. According to Binance, it is making investments to increase crypto custody. Last December, company invested at GoPlus, a security infrastructure company, to develop user-oriented security solutions.

On Flipside

• The GOPAX investment is part of Binance’s $1 billion Industrial Recovery Initiative (IRI). To qualify for the initiative, organizations must demonstrate innovation and long-term value creation, have a clear business model, and have a robust risk management plan in place.

Why You Should Care

According to a Korean news outlet, Gopax faced a $471 million deficit in deposits at Genesis Trading as the company suspended withdrawals last November due to the FTX collapse. However, it is hoped that GOPAX can now return to normal operations and continue withdrawing and paying interest to users of the resulting product through this investment.

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