Gojek sells Coins.ph to the former CFO of Binance and Grindr

Three years after Indonesian tech major Gojek bought Philippine startup Coins.ph for US$95 million, it has sold it for double the amount to Wei Zhou, who served as CFO at crypto trading platform Binance. Coins.ph can now go back to its crypto roots, but there's some serious competition looming in the country

Acquired by Indonesia’s Gojek in January 2019, Philippines-based e-wallet Coins.ph now has a new owner––ex-CFO of Binance, Wei Zhou

One of the earliest crypto wallets in the country, this deal will see Coins strengthening its crypto roots to cash in on the crypto boom in the Philippines

But competition is intensifying in the country as it wakes up to Web3, including the Philippines’ largest e-wallet operator GCash—with 55 million registered users

Could the new management of Coins help the platform grow further? Let’s look at where it stands now

Three years after acquiring Philippines-based Coins.ph, Indonesia’s Gojek has sold the e-wallet startup for at least twice the amount it paid for the company back in January 2019.

Several regional investors familiar with either Coins.ph—also called Coins—or Gojek confirmed the deal. The buyer is Wei Zhou, the former chief financial officer of global crypto exchange Binance. Zhou left the company abruptly in June 2021.

The Ken reached out to Zhou and Gojek. In a Telegram message to The Ken, Zhou confirmed the deal but didn’t elaborate further.

“We’re confident the Coins.ph team, supported by its new management, will continue to further its mission of increasing financial inclusion and creating a positive impact in the Philippines.”

Gojek, in a statement to The Ken

The deal signifies two things.

AUTHOR

Ka Kay Lum

Based in Kuala Lumpur, Ka Kay covers investment activities, aka following the money, across Southeast Asia and in-depth stories on the often-overlooked Malaysian startup ecosystem. She was previously a regional writer for Nikkei-owned DealStreetAsia.

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