The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has acquired Gopax, the fifth-largest cryptocurrency operator in South Korea. This development is drawing attention to potential shifts in the domestic cryptocurrency exchange market.

According to financial authorities on the 16th, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Financial Services Commission accepted the report of executive changes at Gopax the previous day. Current regulations do not require a separate major shareholder eligibility review process for cryptocurrency exchanges. However, exchanges that undergo changes in their representatives or executives must report this to the financial authorities.

Previously, Binance sought to enter the Korean market by acquiring a 67% stake in Gopax in February 2023. Subsequently, Gopax submitted a report for executive changes to list Binance's executives, but the acceptance of this report was delayed for over two years due to legal risks associated with former CEO Changpeng Zhao. Gopax is the fifth-largest cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea and operates a KRW market with real-name accounts. The current domestic cryptocurrency exchange market is dominated by Upbit and Bithumb, with Coinone and Korbit trailing as the third and fourth largest operators, respectively. With Binance completing the acquisition of Gopax, the domestic cryptocurrency industry is expected to reach a turning point. Binance boasts 290 million users, with an average daily trading volume of USD 25.6 billion (approximately KRW 36.3 trillion). Investors anticipate that Gopax's services will diversify and transaction fees will decrease.

The compensation for damages related to Gopax's "GoFi" service, as promised by Binance, is also expected to accelerate. Previously, Gopax offered a deposit service called "GoFi," which provided interest to customers who deposited cryptocurrencies. However, following the bankruptcy of the U.S. cryptocurrency exchange FTX in 2022, fund withdrawals were halted, leaving approximately 1,000 bitcoins of investors locked in the exchange.

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