Binance Seeks to Reduce Stake in Operator of South Korean Crypto Exchange Gopax to 10%

Binance is reportedly seeking to reduce its stake in the South Korean crypto exchange Gopax’s parent company, Streami, to approximately 10%. Binance’s mooted sale of the stake to Megazone comes just over a year after Binance acquired the controlling stake. The exchange needs to offload the stake well before the August 11 deadline for reporting changes related to renewing real-name accounts.

Regulator Voices Corporate Governance Concerns

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is reportedly seeking to offload most of its shareholding in Streami, the operator of the South Korean exchange Gopax. Binance, which acquired the shares in 2023, aims to reduce its stake in Streami from 72.6% to around 10%. The report adds that Binance expects to conclude the deal this July.

According to a report by IT Chosun, South Korean regulators’ apparent reluctance to approve the change in the shareholding structure forced the top crypto exchange to consider relinquishing its stake. An industry insider said the corporate governance structure demanded by financial authorities compelled Binance’s decision.

“Binance is pushing for the sale of shares in order to improve its governance structure as requested by financial authorities in order to process a change report ahead of the renewal of its real-name account contract with Jeonbuk Bank in August,” the anonymous insider explained.

August 11 Deadline

Following its reported acquisition of the stake, Binance sought to have a report on the shareholding structure change approved. However, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) is said to only consider this if the crypto exchange reduced its shareholding to below 10%.

The FSC’s refusal to process a change report, some 15 months after Binance acquired the controlling stake in Gopax’s parent firm, has sparked fears that the crypto exchange may not be able to complete contract renewal before the August 11 deadline. Under South Korea’s revised Special Financial Transactions Act, crypto exchanges are now obliged to report changes related to renewing real-name accounts at least one month before signing the contract.

However, an unnamed official with Megazone, which is in talks to buy Binance’s stake in Streami, stated that the two parties are still examining various forms of collaboration, including equity acquisition. The official nevertheless emphasized that any deal would be subject to government approval.

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