🌎 Binance Nears Deal to Sell Gopax Stake to Korean Firm Megazone

Binance is reportedly nearing a deal to sell its majority stake in the crypto exchange Gopax to the Korean cloud provider Megazone.

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is in advanced talks to sell its controlling stake in Gopax, one of South Korea’s notable crypto exchanges, to Megazone, a South Korean infrastructure provider for cloud solutions. This information comes from local news outlets citing sources close to the matter.

Binance, which acquired a 72.26% stake in Gopax in February last year, is now seeking to reduce its ownership in Streami, the operator of Gopax, from 72.6% to approximately 10%. This move aims to enhance its corporate governance structure as mandated by financial regulators, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Reports suggest that Binance and Megazone are set to finalize the transaction by the end of July. A spokesperson for Megazone noted that the “stake acquisition” is still “subject to government approvals.”

Megazone wasn’t the first bidder for Gopax. BF Labs, formerly known as City Labs, a South Korean public company, had also shown interest in acquiring Binance’s stake in Gopax. BF Labs secured an 8.55% stake in Streami through a capital increase and stock purchase in September last year, becoming the second-largest shareholder and appointing its CEO as Gopax’s chief executive. However, BF Labs abandoned plans to further increase its stake due to financial constraints.

Binance acquired a majority stake in Gopax as part of its re-entry into the Korean market, which it had exited in 2021. The exact figures of the stake acquisition have not been disclosed.

Binance’s involvement in Gopax came after reports surfaced that Gopax’s parent company, Streami Inc., was among the top ten creditors of the insolvent crypto lender Genesis Global. Meanwhile, Digital Currency Group, the parent company of the U.S. crypto lender, was the second-largest shareholder in Gopax.