By George Ward
According to reports, the popular crypto exchange, Binance, is about to complete the details regarding the purchase of one of Korea’s leading crypto exchanges, Gopax. Per decenter, a blockchain media outlet, the exchange has completed its audit of the firm and is satisfied with the results of the audit.
Hence, it is moving to the next stage of the acquisition process. Decenter further revealed that Binance plans to acquire a controlling stake in the platform by buying the 41.2% shares of current Gopax CEO Lee-Jun Haeng.
According to the report, the Binance purchase has been in the works for the past couple of months. While Gopax expanded its domestic dominance for the greater part of last year, it suffered liquidity problems following its exposure to the FTX crypto exchange.
The report further revealed that Binance’s previous attempts to enter Korea’s crypto market didn’t happen due to regulatory issues. One such issue was the Korean regulator’s policy regarding investor protection and money laundering.
Meanwhile, neither Gopax nor Binance has issued an official statement regarding the acquisition deal.
Will Gopax Dominate Korea’s Crypto Market Now?
At the moment, UpBit leads Korea’s crypto market, with Bithumb, CoinOne, and Corbitt (in no particular order) following closely. Even though Gopax ranks among the top five crypto firms in Korea, it only dominates 0.1% of the nation’s crypto market share.
Hence, some industry analysts predict that the Binance deal will push Gopax to rival UpBit as the leading virtual asset service provider in the Asian nation. Binance continues to explore acquisition deals in Asia.
Binance’s deal with Gopax isn’t its recent deal in Asia. Last November, the popular crypto exchange bought controlling stakes in Sakura Exchange Bitcoin. Sakura is a crypto exchange with headquarters in Tokyo and under the regulation of Japan’s financial services agency.
This acquisition meant Binance now has 12 regulatory licenses across various nations, including Cyprus, France, Spain, and Poland. While commenting on the Sakura deal, Binance Japan chief, Takeshi Chino, remarked that the exchange plans to assist Japan in becoming a top crypto asset hub in the Asian region.
Chino added that Japan’s crypto market would plan an important role in long-term crypto adoption on a global scale. He further said Japan had positioned itself to become a leading blockchain hub because of its highly developed tech infrastructure, which rivals that of the top economies globally.
Chino finally remarked that Japanese authorities would keep working with financial watchdogs to establish an exchange that’s best suited for residents.