Seoul: Binance, the world's leading cryptocurrency exchange, has finalized its acquisition of a South Korean crypto exchange, authorities said Thursday, marking its initial entry into the local digital assets market.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), under the Financial Services Commission (FSC), approved Binance's acquisition of GOPAX on Wednesday. GOPAX ranks as the fifth-largest crypto exchange in South Korea.

Binance had aimed to enter the South Korean market by acquiring a majority stake in GOPAX in 2023. However, the plan faced delays due to legal procedures, including the processing of executive change notifications by local authorities. In South Korea, crypto exchanges are not subject to an eligibility review of major shareholders but must report their list of executives to financial authorities, who then decide on the approval of the report.

The acquisition is anticipated to facilitate the payment of compensation to victims of GOFi, a yield-generating deposit product operated by GOPAX. The service encountered issues when its operator, Genesis Global Capital, became insolvent, effectively freezing customer deposits. Binance has agreed to address the outstanding debts related to GOFi as part of its acquisition deal.