Overview
- South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit approved Binance’s acquisition of GOPAX on Oct. 15, completing the long-delayed regulatory review.
- Binance holds a 67% stake secured in February 2023, and regulators accepted GOPAX’s board and executive change report tied to the deal.
- The decision enables Binance’s formal re-entry after its 2021 exit, with GOPAX operating under Korea’s tighter 2025 Virtual Asset User Protection Act.
- About $70 million has already been disbursed to customers affected by GOPAX’s GOFi losses linked to Genesis, with further repayments expected from recoveries.
- GOPAX is expected to renew its real-name banking partnership with Jeonbuk Bank, while market leaders Upbit and Bithumb remain dominant and analysts see limited immediate disruption.