The Indonesian division of Binance Holdings Ltd. is laying off staff and replacing its chief executive after the parent company assumed nearly complete control.
PT Crypto Indonesia Berkat, also known as Tokocrypto, is now almost entirely owned by the largest cryptocurrency exchange, up from a shareholding of more than 51% two years ago when the investment was first made, the local unit announced in an email on Tuesday. Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, tweeted on Monday to confirm the action.
Binance will cut Tokocrypto staff by 58%
In order to adhere to a domestic policy to appoint local leaders, Yudhono Rawis will be assigned as interim CEO at Tokocrypto, replacing Pang Xue Kai, according to company spokesperson Rieka Handayani.
“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.”
CNBC quotes Pang Xue Kai
According to the statement, the Indonesian division will stop diversifying into non-exchange businesses and cut costs by 58% by reducing its workforce.
TKO’s value increased by 50% after news broke on December 6 that Binance and Tokocrypto were in negotiations. At the time, it was also mentioned that there would be a round of layoffs if the buyout went through. Tokocrypto laid off 45 employees in September, or 20% of its entire workforce. At that time, it also severed ties with TokoMall, a market for non-fungible tokens, and T-Hub, a gathering place.
Binance made its first investment in the Indonesian company in 2020. According to reports, Tokocrypto considered conducting an IPO in 2021, but the offering was never completed.
Tokocrypto was the first cryptocurrency exchange in Indonesia to receive approval from the nation’s Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency after being founded in 2018. (Bappebti). Since then, that organization’s approval is needed for cryptocurrency exchanges. 17 businesses had received Bappebti approval as of March this year.
Both the authorized Malaysian exchange MX Global and the authorized Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Sakura were acquired by Binance in March and November, respectively. By acquiring companies that already have licenses, Binance can operate without having to apply for one.