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Binance has increased its shareholding in Indonesian crypto asset trader Tokocrypto, according to local reports on Dec. 19. <\/p>\n
The cash injection was confirmed<\/a> in a tweet by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ), who characterized the deal as having \u201cjust injected more cash and increased our shareholding a bit.\u201d Changes are expected at the exchange.<\/p>\n Tokocrypto founder Pang Xue Kai will reportedly step down as CEO, to be replaced by Yudhono Rawis as interim chief. Pang Xue Kai will remain on the company\u2019s board of commissioners. <\/p>\n CNBC quote<\/a>s Pang Xue Kai as saying:<\/p>\n “This decision was made after careful consideration and we decided that the best step for Tokocrypto going forward is to leverage Binance’s capabilities to build a further physical trading platform for crypto assets.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Reports emerged<\/a>\u00a0on Dec. 6 that Binance was in talks with Tokocrypto, driving the value of its TKO coin up 50%. It was also reported at the time that a round of layoffs would occur if the buyout went through. Tokocrypto laid<\/a> off 45 people, or 20% of its staff, in September. It also spun off its community space T-Hub and nonfungible token marketplace TokoMall at that time. <\/p>\n NOT A RUMOR! @binance<\/a> is acquiring @tokocrypto<\/a>, one of Indonesia’s largest crypto exchange<\/p>\n here’s what we know pic.twitter.com\/6kv0AlIYnd<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Coinvestasi (@coinvestasi) December 19, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Binance first invested in the Indonesian company<\/a> in 2020. In 2021, Tokocrypto was reportedly\u00a0considering an initial public offering<\/a>, although the offering never took place.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tokocrypto was founded in 2018 and became Indonesia\u2019s first crypto exchange to receive approval from the country\u2019s Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (Bappebti) the following year. That agency\u2019s approval has since become mandatory for crypto exchanges. Seventeen companies had received Bappebti approval<\/a> by March of this year.<\/p>\n Related: Celebrity tokens: Signs of rising crypto adoption in Indonesia<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Binance acquired Sakura, a licensed Japanese crypto exchange<\/a>, in November and MX Global, a licensed Malaysian exchange<\/a>, in March. By buying companies that are already licensed, Binance can operate without having to obtain a license itself. <\/p>\n\n