On February 3, 2023 – Binance, the world’s leading blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider, has invested in GOPAX, a leading South Korean cryptocurrency exchange licensed to provide fiat-to-crypto services to customers, as part of Binance’s Industry Recovery Initiative (IRI).

In November 2022, GOPAX suspended principal and interest payments on its decentralized finance (DeFi) service GoFi as a result of upstream challenges experienced by Genesis Global Capital, LLC. Since then, GOPAX has been working closely with local regulatory bodies and industry partners in an effort to raise funds to help rehabilitate affected users.

Binance recognizes GOPAX’s commitment to its users and shares its goal of raising the bar for user protection by fostering a sustainable and responsible environment for cryptocurrency investment and trading in South Korea. As part of this transaction, Binance will inject capital into GOPAX with the aim of fully securing any potential withdrawal requests from GoFi users against all staking deposits, including interest.

Binance will also work closely with GOPAX to improve user education and blockchain awareness through Binance Academy, an open-access blockchain and crypto learning portal that provides free educational resources to users. Binance is committed to collaborating with South Korean regulators and virtual asset stakeholders to explore how Binance can leverage its technology and liquidity to support the local ecosystem.

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, founder and CEO of Binance, said, “Binance has a responsibility to protect our users, as well as our industry. The Industry Recovery Initiative was created to support promising companies that were negatively impacted by the events of the past year. We hope that taking this step together with GOPAX will further rebuild the Korean crypto and blockchain industry.”

Launching in late 2022, IRI is a co-investment opportunity for organizations looking to contribute to the future of Web3 by supporting industry players negatively impacted by market forces. Selected organizations must demonstrate a dedication to innovation and long-term value creation, have a clear and viable business model, and a significant focus on risk management. In addition to financial support, IRI also provides recipients with a comprehensive support plan to help them build stronger organizations.