Bitkub company and crypto-coin value surges as SCB buys 51% of shares

Cryptocurrencies just got a big boost in Thailand as Siam Commercial Bank Group’s parent company SCBX struck a deal to take over 51% of shares of Bitkub from its parent company Bitkub Capital Group Holdings, a deal valued at 17.85 billion baht.

SCB Securities will hold the shares and collaborate with Bitkub to create a national infrastructure with a digital asset exchange and fully digital ecosystem.

The shares are expected to change hands in the first quarter of 2022. SCBX gains a toehold into the world of digital asset exchange and plans to create new value in the booming emerging technology and market. Bitkub gains stability and national scale with the founder and CEO saying the partnership brings clout, as SBC is, by market value, the biggest bank in Thailand.

“From now on Bitkub is no longer just a startup, but we are becoming a key contributor to Thailand’s Finance 3.0 infrastructure.”

The sale announcement pushed Bitkub Online’s value over US$1 billion and drove the company’s own cryptocurrency to triple in value overnight. The coin jumped to a record high of $2.85 yesterday, having hit lows of 98 cents earlier that day.

SCB stock also surged from the purchase news, climbing 3.5% resulting in a 6-week high.

Thailand is a desirable market for young investors and forward-thinking digital assets like cryptocurrency, as it is Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, though Indonesia’s economy doubles that of Thailand. While interest rates are low in the Covid-mired economy, crypto and digital assets are growing and attracting young people new to the investing world.

About 100 billion baht per month is moving through locally licensed crypto exchanges, which peaked at 217 billion in May, shortly after Bitcoin’s crash. But just one year ago, the exchanges were doing only 18 billion baht – a meteoric rise.

Bitkub has captured a staggering 92% of all licensed trading turnover, over 1 trillion baht in 2021. Founded in 2018, the company ballooned quickly and turned a profit of about 1.53 billion baht in the first 3 quarters of 2021.

SOURCE: Nation & Bangkok Post