Binance Acquires Indonesian Crypto Exchange Tokocrypto

Major crypto exchange and trading platform Binance acquires a stake in yet another business weeks after completing the acquisition of CoinMarketCap

Binance has reportedly acquired a controlling stake in Indonesian-based crypto exchange, Tokocrypto.

In an announcement the exchange published on Tuesday, May 12, the investment sees Binance take its latest step in expanding its services via a regulated cryptocurrency platform in one of the fastest-growing markets.

Binance has not made public the amount involved in the deal, but crypto publication The Block has revealed that the exchange now owns a controlling stake in the little known Indonesian platform.

Tokocrypto is a regulated crypto provider whose business in Indonesia has grown over the last two years owing to the growing popularity of crypto in the country. According to Binance, the acquisition of Tokocrypto provides it with an opportunity to offer its crypto products to more people as it expands across the Southeast Asian nation.

The funding is also set to allow Binance to help Tokocrypto with technology enhancements that can boost the local platform’s expansion as well as efforts to promote blockchain education.

The Indonesian exchange launched its services in the country in 2018 and is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency, the country’s crypto markets regulator. Tokocrypto’s reputation has also been enhanced by its partnership with QCP Capital, a Singaporean crypto market.

The problem with Tokocrypto’s business has been the low volumes witnessed since it launched, despite having a license from regulators in the country. The platform’s 24-hour trading volumes pale in comparison with Indodax, the top crypto platform in Indonesia. The country’s largest exchange saw over $8 million worth of trades in the past 24 hours, while Binance’s new venture did volumes of about $700,000.

Indodax has also had about 3 million visitors in the past month, five times more than what Tokocrypto managed over the same period (about 6,000 visitors in April).

Binance’s attraction to this latest acquisition is likely the potential of the 270 million people who could get onboard Tokocrypto.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao stated as much, commenting in a blog post the exchange posted as it announced the deal. According to Zhao, “fast technology adoption, strong economic growth, and the world’s fourth-largest population,” makes Indonesia attractive as a place that could develop into a leading destination of blockchain.

He added:

“Our investment in Tokocrypto will allow us to explore exciting new opportunities together for the Indonesian market with a regulated local partner to further enable the freedom of money.”

In April, Binance acquired crypto ranking and price tracking site CoinMarketCap.