In summary
- Binance received regulatory approval to take majority control of GOPAX after prolonged scrutiny.
- GOPAX says the move marks progress toward resolving GOFi payments linked to Genesis Global Capital.
- Analysts say the decision is conciliatory with regulators, but does not mean an immediate disruption in a cryptocurrency market still dominated by Upbit and Bithumb.
South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit approved Binance’s acquisition of a majority stake in GOPAX, ending a regulatory impasse that had stifled its return to the Korean market for more than two years.
The approval allows Binance to take majority control of GOPAX, restart operations in Korea, fulfill payment promises to users, and position itself to compete with dominant local exchanges.
The decision was confirmed on Wednesday and first revealed on Thursday through a local press outlet mk.
On Thursday, GOPAX announced that its “board change report” had been accepted by regulators, calling it part of the “process of improving management stability and meeting necessary regulatory requirements,” according to a translation of the publication.
GOPAX added that it is working closely with Binance, its largest shareholder, to “continue to operate with greater caution and responsibility” and help resolve issues with users affected by the collapse of its Genesis Global Capital-linked GOFi lending product. binance announced your investment in GOPAX in 2023.
Decipher He contacted Binance, the Financial Services Commission, the Korean Financial Intelligence Unit, and GOPAX for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
The move reopens a key Asian market that Binance abandoned in 2021 after stricter enforcement of real-name banking and anti-money laundering rules.
GOPAX’s request for leadership changes had been pending since March 2023, delayed amid concerns about Binance’s compliance record and criminal conviction of its founder, Changpeng Zhao.
Zhao had served to four month sentence handed down last year for money laundering violations, part of a $4.3 billion settlement with the US Department of Justice that restructured Binance’s governance.
Binance’s entry into Korea brings liquidity, technology and cost advantages, but it faces a market dominated by two local exchanges. Upbit owns about 72%, while Bithumb accounts for about 24%, according to a report from late 2024. report of Kaiko Research.
Analysts said the decision marks a regulatory shutdown rather than a market disruption, and that structural limits are likely to limit Binance’s immediate impact.
The approval “is structurally about the review of GOPAX’s major shareholder change, not Binance’s independent market entry,” said Ryan Yoon, senior analyst at Seoul-based crypto and digital asset analytics firm Tiger Research. Decipher.
“Korean regulators have assessed whether Binance meets suitability standards to control a licensed exchange, and the two-year process suggests that past issues have been remedied within regulatory requirements,” he added.
Going in, Binance’s presence in Korea will not immediately lead to a retail migration, Yoon noted.
“Lower fees alone have not historically changed market dynamics, and sharing the order book with Binance Global likely conflicts with Korean regulatory requirements around trade surveillance and capital controls,” he said.
Short-term exchange rankings “appear stable given the early entrenched effects of Upbit,” he said.
Longer-term prospects would depend on “whether GOPAX can adapt Binance’s operational advantages (listing speed, liquidity ratios) within Korean regulatory constraints,” he added.
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