In August 2023, Gopax, a major South Korean cryptocurrency exchange and part-owned by Binance, sold its users’ deposit claims for half of their original value.
This decision was made following the collapse of Genesis Global, a crypto lending firm the exchange was exposed to. News agency Hankyung reported that Gopax owes its users 70 billion South Korean won ($51.4 million), but has only paid out 50% of the amount.
The remaining unpaid digital assets, initially worth 35 billion at the time of the market crash in November 2022, have now risen to 100 billion won at the current Bitcoin price of $69,000.
This has put Gopax in a state of financial distress, leading to the decision to sell users’ deposit claims at a lower price.
GoFi, the crypto custody service operated by Genesis, was used by Gopax, and the exchange has faced additional troubles due to its connection with the failed Singaporean hedge fund Three Arrows Capital.
