Binance confirms ‘early-stage’ talks over Gopax stake after report of imminent sale

Binance confirmed to DL News that it is in “early stage discussions” about its stake in Gopax.
The company bought its stake last February and is now reportedly looking to sell it.
A sale may signal that Binance is exiting the South Korea market for a second time.

Binance confirmed to DL News that it is in “early stage discussions” about the future of its stake in South Korean crypto exchange Gopax.

The comments follow reports in South Korean media that it is planning to sell its majority stake.

“As it’s still preliminary, we can’t share more details at this time,” a spokesperson said.

Binance bought a majority stake in Gopax in February 2023. At the time, Gopax was struggling.

The preceding November it had halted withdrawals of principal and interest payments on its DeFi platform GoFi due to “upstream challenges” — its parent company Stream Inc was one of the 10 biggest creditors of insolvent crypto lender Genesis.

The move signalled Binance’s return to the South Korean market after its January 2021 exit.

Binance has bought stakes in other local exchanges as a way to re-enter markets it previously departed, often due to regulatory hurdles.

For instance, Binance exited the Japanese market following warnings from regulators in 2018 and 2021 that it was operating without permission.

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In November 2022, it acquired the Osaka-based Sakura Exchange BitCoin, which was already registered with regulators. It relaunched as Binance Japan in August 2023.

Binance’s discussions come amid Asian regulators cracking down on crypto companies.

South Korea is set to introduce a fresh batch of crypto regulation in July following the government passing new consumer protection laws last year.

Gopax’s parent company, Stream, did not respond to a request for comment.

Got an Asia crypto story? Get in touch with DL News’ Asia Correspondent at callan@dlnews.com.