Bitkub, a digital asset and cryptocurrency exchange based in Bangkok, has sold 51% of its total shares to SCB Securities (SCBC) for 17.85 billion baht ($536 million).
SCBS is a subsidiary of Siam Commercial Bank, or SCB, one of Thailand’s largest and oldest banks.
SCBS will become Bitkub’s majority stakeholder when the purchase closes (anticipated in Q1 2022). Bitkub now has a market capitalization of over $1 billion, making it Thailand’s third unicorn after Flash Group and Ascend Money.
SCB plans to collaborate closely with Bitkub as a business partner, developing digital asset enterprises through innovative business models to produce long-term value and laying the groundwork for the bank’s future entry into the financial arena.
“We strongly believe that together we can drive the Thai economy into the future to be a regional financial and technological centre. And it is an important opportunity to create a new national champion for Thailand,” said Bitkub CEO and founder Jirayut Srupsrisopa.
Bitkub is a cryptocurrency and digital asset exchange that also offers blockchain solutions and ICO advice services, as well as educational seminars and venture capital investments. The business wants to accelerate the use of bitcoin and blockchain technology in Thailand.
SCBx Group’s (SCB’s holding company) aim is to upgrade to a financial technology group in the next three to five years, fulfil new customer requirements, and enter the new competitive and developing arena of digital assets.
SCB also has a fintech venture arm, SCB 10X, which has invested in Ripple, Fireblocks, Sygnum, and BlockFi, a centralised crypto lender. The Sandbox raised $93 million in fundraising, and the business was a part of that round.
This year has seen significant banks enter the Thai cryptocurrency sector. Bank of Ayudhya, through its venture capital arm Krungsri Finnovate, invested in Zipmex, a Singapore-based crypto exchange with a Thai licence, in the US $41 million Series B round in August.
