Catenaa, Wednesday, February 04, 2026- Binance plans to complete restitution for users of South Korea’s GoFi service this year, a step the exchange views as essential to reentering the local market and competing with leading domestic platforms.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange said resolving the long running GoFi liquidity crisis would return assets to affected investors and clear regulatory obstacles tied to its expansion strategy in South Korea.
GoFi, a decentralized finance service operated by Gopax, froze withdrawals in 2023 after its partner Genesis Global Capital halted redemptions and later filed for bankruptcy.
Binance acquired a majority stake in Gopax in early 2023 with the intent of supporting GoFi users, though regulatory approval for the transaction was delayed until late 2025.
Following approval, Gopax disclosed that assets set aside for restitution are held under third party custody and mirror the digital asset balances lost by users at the time of the freeze.
The wallet includes bitcoin, ether and USDC, reflecting price gains since withdrawals were halted.
The exchange is still seeking additional approvals from South Korean authorities and is finalizing a distribution plan designed to limit costs for users and counterparties.
Once repayments are completed, Binance plans to focus on stabilizing Gopax through technical and security upgrades aligned with its global standards.
Looking ahead, Binance sees potential growth tied to stablecoins, tokenized real world assets and institutional participation, as South Korea gradually eases restrictions on corporate crypto investment.
Regulatory risks remain, including proposals to limit major shareholder stakes in exchanges, though Binance said it remains committed to building a competitive presence in the market dominated by Upbit and Bithumb.
