South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) Thursday said it approved GOPAX as the country’s fifth digital asset exchange to provide cash-to-crypto services.
See related article: South Korea’s crypto crackdown: What you need to know
Fast facts
- Cash-to-crypto services on GOPAX starts Apr. 28.
- Last September, South Korea mandated strict licensing requirements for crypto exchanges to counter money laundering and market manipulation.
- Local exchanges must obtain a government-issued information security certificate and a local bank partner to provide users real-name accounts.
- Exchanges that fail to secure a bank partner are limited to providing crypto-to-crypto services only.
- GOPAX partnered with regional Jeonbuk Bank in February, and applied for renewal of its business license on March 7.
- The four other digital asset exchanges that crossed the cash-to-crypto finish line ahead of GOPAX — Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit — dominate 99% of the local crypto trading volume according to CoinMarketCap.
See related article: S.Korea eyes restraints on crypto unicorn Dunamu over monopoly concerns