Binance has increased its stake in Indonesian crypto-asset trader Tokocrypto, local media reported on Dec. 19.
The liquidity injection was announced in a tweet by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) confirmed. He explained that it was “a new injection of cash and a small increase in our stake”. Some changes must take place in the stock market.
Tokocrypto founder Pang Xue Kai is expected to step down as CEO and be replaced by Yudhono Rawis as interim boss. Pang Xue Kai will remain on the company’s board of directors.
According to CNBC, Pang Xue Kai explained:
“This decision was made after careful consideration and we decided that the best decision for Tokocrypto was to leverage Binance’s capabilities to create another physical trading platform for crypto assets.”
On December 6, it was reported that Binance was in talks with Tokocrypto, driving the value of the TKO coin up by 50%. It was also said at the time that there would be a number of layoffs if the takeover went through. Tokocrypto laid off 45 employees in September, representing around 20% of the workforce. At this time, the T-Hub community area and the NFT TokoMall market were also established.
NOT A RUMOR! @binance acquires @tokocryptoone of the largest crypto exchanges in Indonesia
Here’s what we know pic.twitter.com/6kv0AlIYnd
—Coinvestasi (@coinvestasi) December 19, 2022
Binance first invested in the Indonesian company in 2020. In 2021, Tokocrypto considered an IPO, which never happened.
Tokocrypto was founded in 2018 and the following year became the first Indonesian crypto exchange to receive approval from Indonesian regulator Bappebti. Meanwhile, every crypto exchange must obtain approval from this authority. As of March this year, 17 companies had received Bappebti’s approval.
Binance acquired Sakura, a licensed Japanese crypto exchange, in November and MX Global, a licensed Malaysian exchange, in March. By purchasing companies that are already licensed, Binance can operate without having to purchase a license itself.