Binance has completed its acquisition of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Gopax, according to a report from local news outlet MK.
On Wednesday, South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit approved the change of key executives at Gopax after a delay of over two years, the MK report said. Gopax filed this request in February 2023 after Binance acquired a 67% majority stake in the exchange.
South Korean authorities previously delayed giving the full approval of Binance’s takeover of Gopax, citing potential anti-money laundering risks.
In June 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Binance for illegally offering services in the U.S., while the Department of Justice accused the exchange of money laundering violations, resulting in the exchange paying $4.3 billion in penalties.
Local media reports said that the approval appears to be influenced by the resolution of those compliance issues in the U.S.
The approval indicates that Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, is set to re-enter the South Korean market after initially shutting down local operations in 2021.
The Block has reached out to Binance for further comment.
Gopax is one of the five South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges authorized to handle cash-to-crypto transactions, a privilege granted only to platforms that meet rigorous know-your-customer and AML requirements.
Gopax faced a serious withdrawal crisis in 2023 when its DeFi partner, Genesis Global Capital (GGC), froze customer funds tied to Gopax’s GoFi deposit product.
This issue was triggered by GGC halting withdrawals and subsequently filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2023 following the collapse of FTX. This resulted in an estimated $47 million (around 56.6 billion Korean won) in GoFi customer funds being frozen.
The crisis directly led Binance to step in, acquiring a majority stake in Gopax in February 2023 with the stated intention of injecting capital to help repay the affected GoFi users.
© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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