Binance in Talks to Acquire Indonesian Crypto Exchange Tokocrypto, Layoffs Expected

Editing by Nathaniel Cajuday

Continuing its efforts to further widen the adoption of cryptocurrency worldwide, crypto exchange giant Binance is currently in negotiations to acquire Indonesian crypto exchange Tokocrypto, according to Indonesian media reports. 

Accordingly, once the deal is finalized, Tokocrypto’s CEO, Pang Xue Kai, is expected to step down from his position, and the Indonesian exchange will also likely see layoffs. 

Prior to this, the exchange already laid off 45 employees or about 20% of its workforce in 2020–Tokocrypto said that the action was due to the crypto market and the global economy. 

However, as of this writing, Tokocrypto is still not confirming the reports regarding the acquisition. But the holders of the exchange’s coin are experiencing the token price rise following the Binance acquisition news. 

According to CoinGecko, Tokocrypto’s exchange token, TKO, jumped 97% after the news went public—although it is down again by 18% at the time of writing. 

“Binance is one of Tokocrypto’s investors who have joined since 2020 to jointly develop the company and help build the crypto asset industry in Indonesia… Tokocrypto’s focus is on building a sustainable business and actively continuing the development of the crypto asset industry, which has grown significantly,” Rieka Handayani, Tokocrypto’s vice president of corporate communications, told Coindesk Indonesia, adding that the exchange will not comment on “rumors and speculation that are circulating.”

Binance invested in Tokocrypto due to the fact that the exchange had obtained a license from the Indonesian regulators—the country’s only regulated crypto exchange at the time.

Consequently, in an attempt to reenter the Japanese market, Binance recently acquired the Japanese crypto exchange Sakura Exchange Bitcoin (SEBC). (Read more:  Binance Secures Japan License by Acquiring Sakura Exchange BitCoin)

Last August, the exchange also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the City of Busan, South Korea, which states that Binance will support the city in creating infrastructure and providing the technology to develop its own blockchain ecosystem. (Read more:  Busan Plans to be a Global Digital Financial Hub, Partners with Binance)

Binance in the Philippines

Currently, Binance is still trying to be licensed in the Philippines. However, the three-year moratorium of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is still active until 2023. And to resolve this, Binance revealed that it is trying to acquire a local company with the necessary licenses.

Binance PH to Acquire a Single Firm That Has Both BSP VASP and EMI Licenses

While still not legally regulated, Binance has been actively participating in discussions that would increase the adoption rate and knowledge of the blockchain industry among Filipinos.

In a panel discussion during the Global Blockchain Summit, Binance’s General Manager for the Philippines, Kenneth Stern, revealed that the exchange will focus on improving education and law enforcement trading in the country as they try to acquire more government support. 

Prior to this, Binance CEO ChangPeng Zhao (CZ) visited Bataan due to the possibility of forging a partnership with the local government to spearhead blockchain initiatives within the province.   (Read more: Coins.ph, Binance, Maya Highlights Efforts in Digital Asset Adoption in PH)

Binance Scholarship is also active in the Philippines. It is an education program where the firm will engage with universities to recruit interns, and after the students graduate, they can be employed in Binance itself. 

This article is published on BitPinas: Binance in Talks to Acquire Indonesian Crypto Exchange Tokocrypto, Layoffs Expected

Disclaimer: BitPinas articles and its external content are not financial advice. The team serves to deliver independent, unbiased news to provide information for Philippine-crypto and beyond.

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