Binance bringing cryptocurrencies to South Korea?

Cryptocurrency is growing rapidly as both a medium of exchange as well as an investment tool and this is evidenced by the progress being made by crypto exchanges who are seeing record transaction volume and are also expanding across the globe. 

One of the latest exchanges to do so is Binance, who is the largest crypto exchange in terms of their daily trading volume. It has been reported by Block in Press, a local South Korean news outlet, that Binance is looking to expand and open a branch in the country. 

Crypto Comes to Korea

Binance is currently based in Malta but according to the report, their CEO Changpeng Zhao is working with local partners to launch a branch of the exchange within South Korea. 

The company reportedly does not know for now the details of the setting up of the new branch but is in talks with BxB, a South Korean fintech firm, to facilitate the opening of the new branch. 

A move towards South Korea would not be out of place as Changpeng Zhao said last year at the Blockchain Partners Summit in Seoul, the South Korean market is an important one and that his company would like to enrich the market. The market has also proven to be quite resilient, even as the government instituted a ban on ICOs in 2018. 

However, an official spokesperson for Binance has come out to denounce this report by stating that the company has not yet decided to expand into the South Korean market. 

Crypto Within Asia 

The expansion of crypto-related businesses within Asia has been a bit of a mixed bag, mostly due to regulatory differences within the region. 

For example, China has banned crypto altogether but firms such as TRON have branches there. On the other hand, several crypto firms within India have been forced to close down or move operations overseas due to laws that prevent them from accessing banking services. 

Should Binance eventually expand into South Korea, it will be interesting to see how they will navigate regulatory challenges.