Tokocrypto’s Native Token Surges 40% on Rumored Binance Acquisition

Binance injected more cash and increased its stake in the Indonesian crypto exchange Tokocrypto, the company’s boss Changpeng Zhao tweeted in response to reports of Binance’s alleged acquisition of the exchange. Tokocrypto’s native token TKO is up 40% over the last 24 hours.

Binance Held a Majority Stake in Tokocrypto “From the Beginning”

Tokocrypto’s native token jumped 40% on Binance’s rumored acquisition of the Indonesian crypto exchange, reported by Coindesk Indonesia on Monday. However, Binance co-founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao provided further clarification on the matter, saying Binance held a majority stake in Tokocrypto from the beginning and has now invested more cash and increased the shareholding.

“Binance was the majority shareholder of Toko from the beginning. Just injected more cash and increased our shareholding a bit.”

– CZ wrote in a tweet.

Still, Coindesk Indonesia’s report states that Binance plans to increase its stake in Tokocrypto to almost 100% in several stages. The move comes less than two weeks after initial reports that Binance is considering buying Tokocrypto, which became the first regulated Indonesia-based crypto exchange in 2020.

As a result of the takeover, Tokocrypto co-founder and CEO Pang Xue Kai will step down from his current position, the report adds. He will be replaced by Yudhono Rawis, who will serve as the exchange’s interim CEO during the buyout process.

Still, Kai will retain his spot on the Tokocrypto Board of Commissioners and will continue to support the company’s new leadership. He said the decision was made after a close examination and believes it is the best move to help Binance improve the crypto trading platform.

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Tokocrypto Reportedly Lays Off 58% of Employees

Alongside the shareholding increase, Coindesk Indonesia reported that around 58% of Tokocrypto’s employees were laid off. The company “is intended to focus on business unit exchanges, so business unit operations and activities outside of exchanges will be temporarily halted,” the report noted.

The crypto exchange also said it will offer full support to the affected employees and make sure the adjustments will not impact the company’s business operational standards for the exchange’s users.

Tokocrypto already cut its workforce by 20% in September due to the ongoing crypto rout. Cryptocurrencies are currently trading at a significant discount as touch macroeconomic conditions and collapses of several major crypto companies, such as crypto bourse FTX, Celsius Network, and Terraform Labs affected investors’ confidence in the risk assets.

Meanwhile, Binance has been targeting licensed and regulated crypto exchanges to foray into specific markets and continue its rapid expansion. The company recently bought the Sakura Exchange Bitcoin to reenter the Japanese market.

Which market do you think Binance should expand into in the coming period? Let us know in the comments below.