ChainCatcher news, according to IT Chosun, Binance is in last-minute negotiations with Megazone's parent company, Megazone, to sell its stake in the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Gopax operator Streami, reducing its stake in Streami from 72.6% to 10%. Sources familiar with the matter indicate that Binance is seeking to sell its stake to improve the governance structure required by financial authorities before renewing the real-name account contract with Jeonbuk Bank in August. This transaction is expected to be completed by the end of this month.Binance acquired a 72.26% stake in Gopax in February last year. Later, in March of the same year, Binance reported a change in its largest shareholder, but South Korean financial authorities have not decided whether to accept Binance's statement in the past year and three months.An official from Megazone explained, "We are discussing various forms of cooperation, including the acquisition of shares, provided that government approval is obtained, but there is no specific decision on future processes or timelines."

ChainCatcher news, according to South Korean media hankyung, Gopax's largest shareholder Binance sold Gopax's Genesis asset claims for less than half of their face value.Initially, Binance promised to compensate investors for 100% of their losses (approximately $70 billion at the time) when it closed the cryptocurrency deposit service Gopay last year. However, Binance did not use its own funds to compensate the victims but instead paid the compensation by selling the victims' asset claims at a discount. Binance sold Gopax's Genesis asset claims for less than half of the price, which, based on the market price at the time, was valued at approximately 70 billion Korean won.Subsequently, virtual asset prices soared, and it is estimated that Gopax suffered losses of at least several hundred billion Korean won as a result.

ChainCatcher news reports that Binance CEO Richard Teng recently made a secret visit to South Korea. It is reported that Teng is directly communicating with South Korean financial authorities to resolve the stagnation issue regarding entry into South Korea. Binance acquired Gopax at the end of 2022 to enter the South Korean market. However, the company has faced difficulties in entering the South Korean market due to the financial authorities not approving the changes to Gopax's virtual asset business registration for over a year.The South Korean Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has also requested that Gopax's partner bank, Jeonbuk Bank, submit a plan for improving Gopax's governance and execution by the end of March. In response, Gopax sent a request to its "GoFI" users last month to convert bonds into shares. The aim is to reduce Binance's stake in the company by increasing the shareholding of high-frequency users.Richard Teng is expected to discuss these governance improvement measures with the authorities during his visit.

ChainCatcher news, citing Binance's Asia-Pacific director Steve Young Kim, states that Binance is currently in the early discussion stage of selling a partial stake in the South Korean exchange Gopax. During the Binance monthly roundtable meeting, Binance's Asia-Pacific director Steve Young Kim mentioned regarding the VASP issue of GoFX: "We hope to provide more specific information about the sale of this stake in some form within the next month or two."In March of this year, Gopax submitted a notice of business change for virtual assets to the financial regulatory authority, applying to change its registered directors. However, the regulatory authority delayed the approval of this notice, citing judicial risks associated with Binance. In response, Binance plans to reduce its stake in Gopax by selling part of its holdings after converting a loan to be paid to Gopay for resolving VASP renewal issues into part of Gopax's debts.According to the regulations of financial intelligence agencies, the validity period for crypto asset operators is three years from the date of receipt of the initial declaration, and renewal applications must be completed 45 days before the validity period expires. Gopax's initial declaration was received on December 9, 2021.

ChainCatcher news, according to News1, South Korean financial authorities have notified existing virtual asset operators to report any changes in their location or registered foreign executives.It is reported that previously, reporting to the authorities was only required when there were changes in the address or executives of the virtual asset operators. Industry insiders believe that this change by the authorities is related to Binance's acquisition of Gopax.

According to ChainCatcher, MTN reports that sources say South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Gopax has signed a share purchase agreement with a new acquirer. This comes after Gopax sought new buyers following the setback of its acquisition plan with Binance, and it is expected that Gopax will release an official announcement as early as next week. The true identity of the acquirer remains confidential, and specific information has not yet been disclosed.

ChainCatcher news, according to a statement released by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea, the financial intelligence unit of South Korea held a meeting with virtual asset service providers (VASP) to strengthen regulatory compliance. The top five cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea (including Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax) have established compliance systems to monitor illegal activities.The meeting revealed that Upbit has created an anomaly trading detection system using artificial intelligence (AI). Bithumb has developed a feature that automatically terminates the trading application when a remote control application is installed and money laundering transactions are detected. Coinone has strengthened the management and monitoring of "risk wallet addresses" related to financial incidents. Korbit has introduced a real-time management system and a secondary review system for each stage of suspicious transaction reports (STR). Gopax has set up a hotline that can respond immediately when it receives account freeze requests related to crimes such as voice phishing.Through a collective commitment, the participants pledged to strengthen joint dialogue around enhancing compliance capabilities. They plan to hold meetings every 2-3 months in the future to maintain this commitment.

ChainCatcher news, according to South Korean media ETtoday, Binance has changed the law firm for its acquisition of Gopax exchange and submitted a business change declaration amendment to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), but has not received any notification so far. Binance previously worked with Kim & Chang law firm during the acquisition of Gopax exchange, but has now appointed Sejong Law Firm. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to Digital Asset, South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Gopax appointed Vice President Lee Jong-hoon (phonetic) as the new CEO at a temporary shareholders' meeting. Binance's General Manager for the Asia-Pacific region, Leon Poong, was removed from the position of Gopax CEO by the Gopax board on June 8.It is reported that Lee Jong-hoon joined Gopax in 2021 and led Binance's acquisition of Gopax. Gopax's decision to replace its CEO with a South Korean is aimed at facilitating the reporting of the company's progress. In February of this year, Bloomberg reported that Binance had acquired a majority stake in the South Korean exchange Gopax, with the funding for this acquisition coming from Binance's previously launched $1 billion "Industry Recovery Fund," although the specific terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.ChainCatcher previously reported that Binance is considering appointing Vice President Lee Jong-hoon (phonetic) to the position of Chief Representative of GoPax to complete the acquisition of GoPax. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to South Korean media Decenter, Binance is considering appointing Vice President Lee Jong-hoon (phonetic) as the chief representative of GoPax to complete the acquisition of GoPax. A source close to GoPax stated, "This is true, we are discussing related matters, but there is no final decision yet. We are discussing various possible scenarios."A spokesperson for Binance stated that the acquisition of GoPax remains unchanged and will continue regardless of the SEC's case. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to Newspim, South Korean financial regulators have suspended the review of the executive change report submitted by Gopax on March 7, which contains information about the appointment of three Binance members as internal directors of Gopax. The industry expects that, due to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's allegations against Binance for violating the Securities Act and its application to freeze assets, South Korean authorities are unlikely to process this change report.In response, relevant personnel from South Korea's financial regulatory agency stated, "The acceptance of the change report is currently under internal review, so we must speak cautiously. However, it is necessary to observe the SEC's movements. Although the Special Financial Transactions Act does not include conflicts of interest for major shareholders, I understand that the Political Affairs Committee has proposed to amend the law to review large company shareholders like the Corporate Governance Act." Therefore, it is expected that the financial authorities' acceptance of the Gopax operator change report will be delayed. If Binance's acquisition of Gopax fails, the withdrawal of GoFi deposit assets may be interrupted. (source link)

According to ChainCatcher news, Binance has reported its acquisition of Gopax to the South Korean financial regulatory authorities. Gopax completed the submission of a change report for virtual asset operators to the Financial Intelligence Unit yesterday afternoon. According to the Specific Financial Information Act, a change report must be submitted when there is a change in the representative or executive officer registration. Earlier this month, Gopax replaced its CEO, founder Lee Jun-haeng, with Binance's Asia Pacific CEO Leon Sing Foong. Additionally, Binance has appointed new internal directors.The report states that even if the FIU accepts the report, it must consider whether Jeonbuk Bank will continue to provide real-name accounts to Gopax. If Jeonbuk Bank feels burdened by the change in shareholders and cancels the cooperation, Gopax's qualification as a virtual asset operator may be revoked. (Newsis)

According to ChainCatcher news, the Korea Daily reported that South Korean financial authorities stated that Binance's governance structure, operational methods, and accounting systems for its trading platform business in the country are opaque, posing risks of illegal money laundering and other financial crimes, and they are currently reviewing these operations.It is reported that earlier this month, Binance planned to enter the country by acquiring a 40% stake in Gopax, the fifth largest exchange in South Korea. The main executives of Gopax have been replaced by Binance personnel, and financial authorities have requested Gopax to reapply as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) or to regulate Gopax by not providing real-name accounts through commercial banks. Currently, Jeonbuk Bank, which provides real-name accounts to Gopax, is considering whether to continue offering real-name accounts after Binance's acquisition officially takes effect. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to the Chosun Ilbo, Leon Foong, who is in charge of Binance's Asia-Pacific region, has been appointed as the new chairman of the board of the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Gopax, which was recently acquired by Binance for a majority stake. Other new internal directors of Gopax include former Binance director Steve Young-Kim and Ji Yu Zhao (head of Binance's industry recovery program). Most of the board members of Gopax come from Binance.Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Binance had acquired a majority stake in the South Korean exchange Gopax, with the funding for this acquisition coming from Binance's previously launched $1 billion "industry recovery program." The specific terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to South Korean media Etoday, reported that after Binance acquired a partial stake in the South Korean exchange Gopax earlier this month, Gopax founder Lee Jun-hyung (phonetic) resigned as CEO. Lee Jun-hyung sold all of his 41.22% stake in Gopax. One of the newly appointed three directors, a Malaysian, has been appointed as the new CEO of Gopax. However, a Gopax official stated, "I think we need to verify whether this resignation is true."In early February, Bloomberg reported that Binance had acquired a majority stake in the South Korean exchange Gopax, with the funds for this acquisition coming from Binance's previously launched $1 billion "Industry Recovery Plan," although specific acquisition terms were not disclosed. Gopax suspended customer withdrawals in November 2022, and its parent company Streami Inc. is one of the top 10 known creditors of Genesis Global, which is also a partner of Gopax in providing yield products. Binance plans to inject capital into Gopax so that Gopax's yield product GoFi can facilitate customer withdrawals and interest payments. Zhao Changpeng expressed hope to further rebuild the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry in South Korea together with Gopax. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, Binance has acquired a majority stake in the South Korean exchange Gopax. The funds for this acquisition come from Binance's previously launched $1 billion "industry recovery plan," and the specific terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed. Gopax suspended customer withdrawals in November 2022, and its parent company Streami Inc. is one of the top 10 known creditors of Genesis Global, which is also a partner in the yield products offered by Gopax. Binance plans to inject capital into Gopax so that Gopax's yield product GoFi can facilitate customer withdrawals and interest payments. Changpeng Zhao expressed hope to further rebuild the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry in South Korea together with Gopax.Earlier reports indicated that Binance completed its due diligence on the acquisition of the South Korean exchange Gopax in early January and is in the final steps of confirmation procedures. At that time, Binance planned to purchase shares (41.2%) from Gopax's largest shareholder, CEO Lee Jun-hyung. (source link)

According to ChainCatcher news, the Korea Daily reported that the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Gopax needs to repay up to 60 billion won (approximately 47 million USD) to its cryptocurrency financial product GOFi customers, including fixed-term deposit products, free-form products without a fixed deposit term, deposit service interest, and delayed interest incurred due to the suspension of withdrawals.In November 2022, Gopax announced that due to the impact of the suspension of redemptions by its partner Genesis, GOFi would delay principal and interest repayments. In early January 2023, Decenter reported that Binance had recently completed its due diligence on the South Korean exchange Gopax and was in the final steps of confirmation procedures. However, the Korea Daily stated that a Binance employee indicated that no decision had been made regarding the acquisition of Gopax. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to Decenter, Binance has recently completed the due diligence for the acquisition of the South Korean exchange Gopax and is in the final steps of the confirmation process. Relevant insiders stated: "The plan was initially to announce the acquisition around last Christmas, but final negotiations regarding the share value are ongoing."It is reported that Binance will acquire the shares represented by the largest shareholder of Gopax, Lee Jun-hyang (phonetic), who holds a 41.2% stake, but in order to stabilize operations, the original management system will be temporarily maintained. Gopax is one of the top five exchanges in South Korea where cryptocurrencies can be traded using Korean won. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, affected by the Genesis event, South Korean cryptocurrency exchange GOPAX announced on Thursday that it has halted withdrawals of principal and interest in its DeFi service GOFi, which acts as an agent for the cryptocurrency lending platform Genesis Global Capital's products. It is reported that the suspension of GOFi was proposed by its partner Genesis Global Capital. (forkast)