Binance-backed Gopax exchange narrows net loss, reports 97% YoY revenue growth in 2023

Asia • April 12, 2024, 5:18AM EDT

Published 1 minute earlier on

Quick Take

Gopax’s revenue grew 97% year-over-year amid recovering market sentiment.
Most of Gopax’s net losses stemmed from GoFi-linked debt, which came from deposits stuck in Genesis Global Capital.
Binance, its major shareholder, is looking for ways to readjust its position in the South Korean exchange.

Gopax, the Binance-backed South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, reported a net loss of 51.3 billion Korean won ($37 million) in 2023, compared to a net loss of 90.6 billion won in 2022, according to the year-end financial report from Streami, its parent company.

The trading platform, which is one of South Korea’s five fully licensed crypto exchanges, recorded improved year-over-year performances last year. Its revenue grew 97% to 3.1 billion won, while its net operating loss shrunk 78% to about 17 billion won.

Stronger results from Gopax came as bull cycle sentiment arose in 2023 in South Korea, which continues to be one of the most active crypto markets in the world. In November 2023, the South Korean won replaced the U.S. dollar’s position as the largest fiat trading pair in crypto, according to a Bloomberg report.

Meanwhile, most of Gopax’s losses in 2023 stemmed from the money entangled in Genesis Global Capital, which announced the suspension of withdrawals in November 2022 due to a liquidity crisis related to its involvement in FTX. Genesis was the operator of Gopax’s crypto custody service GoFi, which still owes its users 63.7 billion won, according to the financial report.

Binance acquisition stalled

Gopax was acquired by Binance in February 2023, as the global exchange stepped in to resolve its liquidity issues and gain a gateway into the South Korean market.

However, local financial authorities have repeatedly delayed approving the transfer of ownership to Binance, reportedly due to concerns surrounding its legal issues in the U.S.

Steve Kim, Binance’s Asia-Pacific business development director, said during a roundtable discussion in February that the global exchange is in early-stage talks to reduce its shares to become the second-largest shareholder, aiming to ease Gopax’s debts and compliance pressure. Binance CEO Richard Teng also visited Seoul in March to meet financial regulators, local media reported.

Binance remains the largest shareholder in Gopax with a 67.45% stake, according to the latest financial report,. A Binance spokesperson told The Block that there are no updates to share regarding any changes in Binance’s shares in Gopax.

Gopax did not immediately respond to The Block’s request for further comment.

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About Author

Danny Park is an East Asia reporter at The Block writing on topics including Web3 developments and crypto regulations in the region. He was formerly a reporter at Forkast.News, where he actively covered the downfall of Terra-Luna and FTX. Based in Seoul, Danny has previously produced written and video content for media companies in Korea, Hong Kong and China. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism and Business Marketing from the University of Hong Kong.