Binance Remains Quiet On Gopax Acquisition Rumors

Key Points:

• Lee Jun-haeng, the Gopax founder and major stakeholder, is asking Binance to purchase a 41.2% stake in Gopax. Lee will continue to serve as the company’s CEO.
• Gopax holds less than 0.1% of the Korean cryptocurrency market.
• Regarding this acquisition, Binance refused to give an official answer.

The largest crypto exchange in the world, Binance, declined to comment on local media claims that it is in advanced negotiations to buy the South Korean digital asset exchange Gopax.

According to a local news outlet, Decenter, which cited an unknown industry official, Binance is attempting to negotiate with Lee Jun-haeng, Gopax’s founder and main shareholder, and intends to keep Lee in his current position as CEO.

One of the five South Korean cryptocurrency trading platforms (Upbit, Bitsum, Coinone, Corbit, and Gopax) authorized to offer consumers fiat-to-crypto services is Gopax.

Gopax, the fifth and final company to obtain a license, holds less than 0.1% of the Korean cryptocurrency market, while Upbit, the market leader, holds more than 80%.

In February of last year, the exchange linked its real-name account with Jeonbuk Bank and posted its name as a won currency exchange, and then started to expand its domestic business in earnest but suffered a liquidity crisis due to a series of bad news such as global austerity measures and FTX bankruptcy.

Binance has been steadily trying to enter the Korean market, but as the financial authorities strictly restricted the requirements for virtual asset operators for reasons such as anti-money laundering and investor protection, they gave up direct entry and found a detour. It is interpreted that the interests of the two companies are aligned, and this contract is on the fast track.

The Korean cryptocurrency market is dominated by Upbit, but if Binance, which has strong capital, launches aggressive marketing with Gopax at the forefront, a significant change in perception may occur. Regarding this acquisition, Binance refused to give an official answer, and Gopax said to Decenter:

“We cannot confirm the facts.”

There is also a prospect that Gopax can become a bridgehead for entering the domestic cryptocurrency market in East Asia. In the process of actively intervening in management, as Binance is more than just a shareholder, the contact point between the Korean market and foreign investors can be widened, and opportunities to enter the global market can be opened through Gopax.

Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, stated that the exchange is getting ready to enter the South Korean market in November. In order to promote its blockchain ecosystem, Binance and the city of Busan entered into cooperation last year, which included the establishment of a regional office in Busan.

Gopax announced on December 31 that the due diligence for a new business deal with the largest global blockchain infrastructure company had been finished. Despite the statement’s citation of a non-disclosure agreement, many outlets believe the anonymous company to be Binance.

DISCLAIMER: The Information on this website is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute investment advice. We encourage you to do your own research before investing.

Join us to keep track of news: https://linktr.ee/coincu

Website: coincu.com

Harold

Coincu News