Binance has decided to refund Gopax GOFI users a total of $90.52 million. This follows a two-year review marking the initial phase of Binance’s planned expansion into the Korean payments and institutional markets.
Binance has announced the integration of Gopax to expand its operations in Korea, leading the company to refund over $90 million to users. The refunds will be rolled out throughout the year, and the strategy includes payment lanes, institutional services, and the tokenization of RWA.
Binance has completed or entered the final administrative stages for the restitution of approximately $90.52 million related to the GoFi product, a step the company has framed as part of rebuilding trust in the Korean market.
Gopax is a successful company that concentrates a large part of its operations in Korea, which is where Binance’s interest and subsequent acquisition originated. As part of these decisions, the company also moved its $1 billion Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) to Bitcoin as part of a global reserve strategy.
Binance’s institutional expansion
Binance’s roadmap combines a payments pilot with the acquisition of Gopax, focused on cross-border operations using stablecoins for international visitors. The initiative relies on partnerships with licensed Korean payment providers and is presented as a controlled test of crypto payment lanes that, if approved by regulators, could expand e-commerce and remittance options.
In parallel, Binance is strengthening its institutional presence by leveraging recent product developments. These include the launch, in September 2025, of a white-label Crypto-as-a-Service infrastructure designed to offer custody, settlement, and treasury tools to banks and brokerages.
Binance has committed to completing GoFi refunds by 2026, while the payments pilot maintains a limited initial scope with stablecoins for international visitors. Taken together, these initiatives aim to attract both retail users and institutional clients, particularly treasury and brokerage firms.
South Korea’s evolving regulatory framework imposes strict real identity verification requirements and limits on share ownership. The proposed 15–20% cap for majority shareholders represents a material constraint that could force Binance to consider divestitures or alternative structures to maintain a full market presence.
For users, the payments pilot could translate into lower cross-border costs, while the institutional tools could improve liquidity and the diversity of available products. Looking ahead, key milestones include the completion of GoFi refunds during 2026, the phased rollout of payment lanes via Gopax, and the ongoing regulatory timeline in South Korea through January 2027.
