Global digital asset exchange Crypto.com will launch its retail trading services in South Korea on April 29, according to its announcement on Tuesday.
Crypto.com’s South Korean trading platform will replace locally licensed crypto exchange OK-BIT, which announced it was ending its services. Crypto.com acquired OK-BIT in 2022.
“We are extremely excited to launch the Crypto.com app for retail users in South Korea – a market of critical importance to the growth of our business and where consumers are very interested in crypto,” said Eric Anziani, president and COO of Crypto.com, in the announcement.
Crypto.com’s Korean platform is subject to strict regulations set by local authorities for crypto exchanges. The local service, dubbed Crypto.com App, will allow South Korean investors to trade cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens, but will not serve institutional clients as South Korea-based institutions are prohibited from investing directly in cryptography.
Additionally, South Korea requires local crypto exchanges to acquire a banking partnership in order to be able to offer fiat-to-crypto trading services, in an effort to minimize the risks of money laundering and market manipulation. Exchanges that have not entered into a banking partnership, including OK-BIT, have offered limited crypto-to-crypto trading services.
Crypto.com said its services will start as a crypto-to-crypto exchange, but will continue to make efforts to secure the local banking partnership to provide a comprehensive trading experience, according to the South Korean news agency. News1.
Binance in deadlock in South Korea
At the same time, Binance also entered the South Korean market last year by acquiring a majority stake in local exchange Gopax, which had liquidity issues associated with Genesis Global Capital. Gopax is one of five fully licensed exchanges in South Korea, meaning it provides fiat-to-crypto services.
However, the South Korean authorities postponed several times approving Gopax’s structural change, apparently due to concerns over Binance’s legal issues in the US
Binance sought to resolve local compliance issues by reducing its shares in Gopax and giving up being its largest shareholder. Binance CEO Richard Teng traveled to South Korea last week to meet with financial regulators and local media. reported.
South Korea is home to one of the largest and most active cryptocurrency markets in the world. Its five fully licensed exchanges – Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax – processed nearly $3 billion in crypto transactions in the last 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. data. At the height of bitcoin’s price rally earlier this year, South Korea’s crypto trading volume briefly exceeded that of his purse.
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