Binance is taking some advantage of the ongoing crypto market slump to bolster its presence in international markets. As part of its Asia expansion plan, the crypto exchange has completed the purchase of Indonesia’s Tokocrypto exchange for an undisclosed amount. Under its CEO Changpeng Zhao, Binance had started investing in Tokocrypto two years ago in 2020, and this week it became the largest shareholder of the Indonesian crypto exchange. With this acquisition, Binance will be able to legally operate in Indonesia.
Tokocrypto was founded in September 2018 and is headquartered in Jakarta. Tokocrypto already has the required approvals from the Indonesian Commodity Futures Trading Authority (BAPPEBTI).
“We have decided that the best move for Tokocrypto is leverage binance Capabilities to Build Another Physical Crypto Asset Trading Platform,” a CNBC report quoted Pang Xue Kai, the founder and former CEO of the Indonesia Stock Exchange said.
Binance has reportedly appointed Yudhono Rawis as interim CEO of Tokocrypto while retaining Kai as a member of the board. Amid the transition, Tokocrypto has cut an undisclosed percentage of its employees, according to the report.
Indonesia is witnessing a boom in crypto activity. A opinion poll by The Jakarta Post recently said that 41 percent of Indonesians own crypto assets.
Already in July MasterCard made a splash in the Indonesian crypto market color a partnership with crypto gateway provider called Fasset. The goal of this partnership is to jointly develop digital solutions and expand crypto adoption in Indonesia to break down the barriers to digital finance and create greater opportunities to benefit from the use of emerging financial services.
Meanwhile, in a September report, chain analysis said that the combined region of Central and South Asia and Oceania (CSAO) emerged as the third largest cryptocurrency market this year.
The residents of these nations generated US$932 billion (about Rs.75.09.17 billion) in cryptocurrency value from July 2021 to June 2022.
At the time, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh were found to have each contributed over US$20 billion (around Rs.1.61.16 billion) to the remittance markets via crypto transactions.
Binance operates in India and Pakistan. The stock exchange has also made a name for itself Kazakhstan’s crypto sector in August of this year by receiving approval in principle to offer its cryptocentric services there.
The stock market has an even deeper relationship with the Asian continent. In 2017, Binance was launched with headquarters in China. Later, as China began tightening the noose around crypto activities, the company moved its headquarters to the Cayman Islands.
The exchange aims to become the most licensed crypto company in the world that already has approvals Abu Dhabi and Puerto Rico among other regions.
