Exchange giant Binance has invested in the troubled South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Gopax. The investment comes two years after Gopax shut down its affiliate business in the country.

Binance invests in Gopax

According to a report by Bloomberg, Binance had acquired a majority stake in the Gopax exchange. Binance has confirmed this investment in a blog post, but it has not revealed the amount of capital spent to close the deal.

The Binance exchange has said that the $1 billion investment in the Gopax exchange came from the $1 billion crypto recovery fund that Binance launched in November last year following the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. Binance launched this recovery fund to support the crypto firms that were feeling the pinch of the bear market and the effects of the demise of one of the largest crypto companies.

The collapse of the FTX triggered financial troubles for several digital asset companies, such as BlockFi and Genesis, which provided crypto lending services. Genesis halted withdrawals shortly after FTX filed for bankruptcy. Shortly after, Gopax announced that it would also be halting withdrawals on the GoFi yield product as it had exposure to Genesis.

With Binance’s capital injection into Gopax, it now means that users of the exchange can now access their staked deposits and interests. According to Binance, Gopax was working with local regulatory bodies and stakeholders across the industry to secure the funds needed to resume withdrawals on its yield product.

The CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, hinted that the capital injection would allow the company to operate in the South Korean market. “We hope that taking this step with Gopax will further build the Korean crypto and blockchain industry,” Zhao said.

Binance also added that it was ready to collaborate with regulators in South Korea and other industry stakeholders to determine how Binance can adopt technology and expand liquidity to support the local cryptocurrency sector.

The capital investment comes shortly after Binance’s approval to close the acquisition deal for Voyager. Voyager is a crypto lender that was also forced to halt withdrawals last year because of the extreme market conditions. Voyager was initially set to be acquired by the FTX before the latter filed for bankruptcy.

Binance’s plan to expand its global presence

Binance’s investment in Gopax comes when the cryptocurrency exchange seeks to grow its global presence. South Korea is one of the countries where the exchange is planning to resume operations.

Earlier this month, Binance obtained registration in Sweden, marking the seventh regulatory license the exchange secured in the European Union. Binance is currently licensed in 15 jurisdictions globally.

Binance recently obtained a license to operate in Japan following the acquisition of Sakura Exchange Bitcoin. The Japan-based exchange is fully regulated by the Japanese Financial Services Agency. Moreover, Binance recently launched an off-exchange settlement targeting institutional investors to expand its dominance in the crypto industry.