Crypto Journalist
Anas Hassan
Crypto Journalist
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Binance disclosed a $90.52 million crypto fund secured for GOFi victim compensation while accelerating its expansion through GOPAX, the South Korean exchange now under its control, as the company prepares to support institutional adoption and build payment infrastructure in 2026.
The move follows years of regulatory delays after Binance acquired a 67% stake in GOPAX in February 2023, with authorities finally approving the ownership change in October 2025 amid broader efforts to position Korea as a global crypto hub.
The expansion push comes as Korean regulators gradually lift shadow restrictions on crypto integration in traditional finance, recently ending a nine-year ban on corporate crypto investments and drafting the Digital Asset Basic Act targeted for passage this year.
Binance aims to establish infrastructure for institutional treasury management and cross-border stablecoin settlement, with payment capabilities for overseas visitors representing a key focus despite domestic restrictions on crypto-backed transactions.
Institutional Growth and Payment Rails Drive 2026 Strategy
SB Seker, head of Asia-Pacific at Binance, emphasized institutional momentum during a video interview with The Korea Times on Friday.
“Twenty-three percent of last year’s global growth came from institutional adoption,” Seker said.
“We think the same will happen if (regulatory) development takes up in Korea. The uptake will be similar, if not more.“
Beyond core spot trading and digital asset products, Binance expects Korean firms to begin allocating crypto to their balance sheets once regulations are clear.
The exchange is exploring partnerships with licensed local payment providers to enable inbound transactions from overseas visitors, a move Seker hopes will set a precedent for regulators as domestic payment restrictions remain in place.
The institutional focus aligns with Binance’s September 2025 launch of Crypto-as-a-Service, a white-label infrastructure solution providing banks and brokerages with back-end trading, custody, settlement, and compliance tools.
The platform followed July’s Institutional Loans rollout, offering verified corporate clients up to 4x leverage through cross-collateralized credit lines across multiple accounts.
GOFi Compensation Faces Final Administrative Hurdles
GOPAX disclosed the compensation wallet on Thursday after securing regulatory approval for Binance’s executive change filing last October.
The crypto holdings total approximately 130 billion won, marking progress on obligations tied to the GOFi interest-paying product that froze roughly 1,000 bitcoins following FTX’s 2022 collapse.
“What we’ve done is to demonstrate transparency and confidence in the market that our intention is there,” Seker said.
However, Korean law requires repayment through GOPAX’s balance sheet, forcing Binance to first capitalize the company before distributions begin.
Execution costs associated with converting crypto to fiat and back may cause final distributions to fluctuate with market liquidity and asset prices, though Binance is working to minimize these costs for GOFi creditors.
“It’s taken us three years to get a change of control. We still have a few hoops to jump through,” Seker noted, adding that full shareholder approval from minority shareholders remains pending before the firm can “move forward at full speed with the business.“
Regulatory Framework Takes Shape Amid Market Consolidation
Korea’s crypto regulatory architecture is rapidly evolving in the wake of Binance’s return.
The Democratic Party’s Digital Asset Task Force recently confirmed that the forthcoming Digital Asset Basic Act will require stablecoin issuers to maintain a minimum capital of 5 billion won ($3.5 million), aligning the requirements with those of electronic money firms.
Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eog-weon said earlier this week that the regulator is also reviewing 15-20% ownership caps for major crypto exchange shareholders, part of a shift from a notification system to permanent authorization status.
The proposal has drawn pushback from exchanges including Upbit and Coinone, where controlling shareholders hold stakes exceeding 28% and 53%, respectively.
Meanwhile, Korea lifted its nine-year corporate crypto ban this month, permitting listed companies to invest up to 5% of equity capital in top-20 cryptocurrencies.
At the same time, the National Assembly also passed legislation creating a legal framework for the issuance and trading of tokenized securities, scheduled to take effect in January 2027.
For now, market expansion continues by exchanges as Coinbase also weighs an investment in Coinone, while Naver Financial agreed to acquire Dunamu, the operator of Upbit.
