Crypto Bank Anchorage Digital To Make Entry into Asia

Anchorage Digital is making an entry into Asia with five new partnerships in the region.

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The institutional crypto platform has partnered with cryptocurrency exchange Bitkub, asset management firm Dream Trade, blockchain investment firm FBG Capital, venture firm IOSG Ventures and digital assets financial services provider Antalpha.

The company has previously partnered with internet infrastructure provider GMO-z.com Trust Company in Asia.

Anchorage has a record of becoming the first crypto bank to receive a federal charter in the US after its establishment in 2017. Diogo Mónica – Anchorage’s co-founder and president – told The Block that this is the highest order charter that banks can get in the US.

He added that obtaining a charter isn’t all sunshine and paradise. Instead, it is also a burden as it requires a level of transparency and maturity to meet the charter’s requirements.

The company said several Asian clients have selected Anchorage because of its strong regulatory status in the US.

“We appreciate Anchorage’s attention to regulatory compliance and vetting of the digital assets they support,” said Will Chiu, Antalpha’s chief investment officer, in a statement. 

“Through their combination of crypto-native fluency and understanding of traditional finance needs, they continue to support us in expanding the adoption of digital assets,” he added.

The company’s business model involves providing institutions with integrated financial services and infrastructure solutions. They could include solutions such as custody, staking and trading services.

Recently, the startup successfully raised $350 million in a Series D funding round led by investment firm KKR. Other participants included traditional players such as Goldman Sachs and Thoma Bravo, along with crypto-native firms such as Alameda Research and Blockchain Capital.

“We work with institutions and what we see is that institutions have very long-term horizons; they are not stopping these partnerships,” Mónica said. 

In another major development, Anchorage will become the preferred custodian for buzzy new layer one blockchain Aptos.

In a recent interview with CoinDesk, Mónica said, “by partnering with Aptos, we are actually helping make sure that the next generation of layer 1 blockchains are taking these proper [security] considerations, and that will only spur future growth in the industry.” 

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BitKub CTO Fined by Thai SEC For Insider Trading Offenses

Samret Wajanasathian, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of BitKub, has been fined by the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a rare insider trading case in the local cryptocurrency ecosystem.

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According to the English translation of the announcement from the Thai regulator, the total civil fine levied came in at 8,530,383 baht, or approximately $234,000. The SEC alleged that Samret acquired as many as $61,000 worth of KUB tokens well in advance of the announcement of the potential plan by the Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) to take a 51% ownership stake in the trading platform.

As unveiled by the Thai regulator, the acquisition of the KUB tokens was based on insider information that Samret was privy to, and he made a 101% gain when the proposed SCB BitKub collaboration was unveiled later toward the end of last year.

 

The imposed fine was accompanied by a ban on the Thai digital currency trading platform’s CTO from holding any executive position on a trading platform in the near future. The fined amount involves the refund of the cumulative fund that Samret received as profit as well as the total cost incurred by the SEC in the course of the investigations into the case. 

 

Should Samret refuse the fines, the SEC said he would be charged to the Civil Court where he will be forced to pay the fines up to the maximum and not below what has been earlier charged by the SEC.

 

The deal with SCB has been terminated as reported last week as the banking giant said it had better take a step back to allow BitKub to resolve the many regulatory challenges that are hanging over the exchanges. 

 

It is not clear if the charges brought against Samret Wajanasathian count as one of those being avoided by SCB, the financial institution said it is open to productive collaborations in the crypto space moving forward.

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Thailand’s Commercial Bank SCB Terminates Deal to Acquire BitKub Crypto Exchange

Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), the oldest commercial banking institution in Thailand, has announced the effective termination of its proposed deal to acquire the BitKub exchange.

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According to the press release shared by the banking firm, the plan to terminate the deal was circumstantial and approved by the company’s board of directors. 

The deal was first announced in November last year, with SCB committed to buying up 51% of the shares of BitKub for over $500 million, an investment that will give it majority ownership. Following the agreement at the time, the bank said it proceeded to conduct due diligence in conjunction with the exchange. 

The bank, however, said it would be terminating the deal because the transaction has some regulatory issues to resolve directly by the Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

“Whilst the results of the due diligence exercise did not reveal any significant abnormal issues which are irremediable, Bitkub is currently in the process of resolving various issues as per the recommendations and orders of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Thailand, which are uncertain in terms of timeframe in resolving those issues. As a result, the Buyer and the Seller have agreed to terminate the Transaction,” the announcement reads. 

The bank said it remains committed to deepening its footprint in the digital currency ecosystem with future acquisitions. Its growth push in the transaction ecosystem will further complement its venture capital outfit, SCB 10X, which invests in both blockchain-based and Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ecosystems. 

Some companies in the SCB 10X portfolio include but are not limited to Fireblocks, Ripple Labs, The Sandbox, and the currently embattled crypto lender, BlockFi.

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Crypto Exchanges Have a Collective Responsibility to Educate Investors, Bitkub CEO Says

As part of collective responsibility, cryptocurrency exchanges should take up the mantle of enhancing financial knowledge about digital assets so that investors are aware of downside factors, says Topp Jirayut Srupsrisopa, the CEO of Thailand-based crypto exchange Bitkub.

Volatility in the crypto market has emerged as one of the largest downside risks. This is an issue that Srupsrisopa highlighted because bearish prices do not hinder uptrends in cryptocurrencies. He noted:

“You have to differentiate between a short-term shock that is happening in the market and a long-term view.”

For instance, Bitcoin (BTC) slipped below the psychological price of $20K for the first time in 18 months based on tightened macroeconomic factors like increased interest rates.

Nevertheless, the leading cryptocurrency has gained momentum and reclaimed this level because it was hovering around $21,100 during intraday trading, according to CoinMarketCap. 

With proper financial education, crypto users will be able to make smart decisions, according to Srupsrisopa. The Bitkub CEO commented:

“We have always said not to put all your eggs in one basket and not to borrow money to speculate. We need to get the right financial education, not just in cryptocurrency but in the entire stock market.” 

As the largest crypto exchange in Thailand, Srupsrisopa acknowledged that Bitkub welcomes the regulations taking a leading role because they will make the industry safer. He added:

“Everyone is doing their job. Regulators are trying to reduce risk and make sure things are in place in terms of consumer protection and financial stability. We are trying to build a digital infrastructure for the country.”

Meanwhile, Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of crypto exchange FTX, noted that the Federal Reserve (Fed) was responsible for the downturn in cryptocurrencies. 

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How Thai Crypto Unicorn Bitkub Plans to Become the Coinbase of Asia

Thailand startup Bitkub Capital Group Holdings, founded in 2018, hit unicorn status last month notching up a valuation of over $1 billion. Now the crypto exchange intends to expand over Malaysia, the Philippines, and Laos, aiming to become “the Coinbase of Southeast Asia”, said the chief executive officer Jirayut Srupsrisopa.

The Bangkok-based crypto exchange is aiming for huge growth during 2022 as it looks for the possibilities for partnership in Southeast Asia and setting up its own units, Bloomberg reported. Part of the strategy focuses on monopolizing in countries that lack bigger players, which opens the doors to dominate the field.

Our strategy is to expand in countries that have no clear winners yet and are under-banked, with high social media usage and the potential to use cryptocurrency for remittances, … The expansion will be achieved either through new ventures or acquisitions. The goal is to become the Coinbase of Southeast Asia.

The American company Coinbase Global Inc. is a crypto assets marketplace, and its technology provides a way to build crypto-based applications, among other services. It says on the Coinbase website that they roughly have “73 million verified users, 10,000 institutions, and 185,000 ecosystem partners in over 100 countries trust Coinbase to easily and securely invest, spend, save, earn, and use crypto.”

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The Crypto Unicorn Climbs Up

Last month, Bitkub saw a 24-hour turnover after Siam Commercial Bank Plc bought a 51% stake of the startup for 17.85 billion baht (over $528,8 million), which valued Thailand’s largest crypto exchange at 35 billion baht ($1 billion).

This set Bitkub at the 79th spot within 300 international exchanges worldwide ranked by CoinMarketCap. Its native digital coin almost tripled in value following the purchase announcement.

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Jirayut Srupsrisopa claimed back then that “Bitkub is no longer just a startup and is now becoming a necessary part of the infrastructure critical for Thailand’s financial industry.” Now, he plans to climb on top of that thought.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Payments Card Are Coming To Asia Pacific, Courtesy Of Mastercard

Although Southeast Asia’s unamicable policies on crypto-assets might represent an obstacle for crypto startups to reach such ambitious goals, Jirayut expects a brighter future in which policymakers and regulators recognize the general embracing of crypto and finally back them, “they can’t avoid it forever” he said.

We have kept on going despite calls from the anti-money laundering agency and the central bank, … Regulations have always followed innovation. The majority of people would have given up because of these regulations. We’re crazy enough to keep going.

Earlier, Bitkub also became one of three Asian platforms to partner with Mastercard to offer crypto credit, debit, and prepaid cards for users and businesses based in the Asia Pacific. This partnership allows users to convert Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies into fiat money to make purchases, giving them the “choice and flexibility in how they pay”, said Mastercard’s executive vice president Rama Sridhar.

Jirayut also shared Bitkub’s expectation for a 1,350% growth in revenue in 2021, reaching around 5 billion baht ($148 million).

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Crypto total market cap at $2,5 trillion in the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com

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Thai lawmakers urged to approve tourism crypto to entice digital nomads

A push in Thailand to boost gross domestic product (GPD) by targeting crypto digital nomads is coming closer to fruition according to local media.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has been looking into launching its own utility token called TAT Coin since September as part of a planned “cryptourism” campaign. The initiative aims to attract crypto wealthy digital nomads and the TAT has been in discussions with the Stock Exchange of Thailand regarding TAT Coin’s issuance.

According to a Nov. 24 report from the Bangkok Post, the infrastructure behind the TAT Coin is “ready” to go and is now awaiting the green light from the Thai government.

Speaking at the “Transform tourism with cryptourism” conference on Tuesday, Jirayut Srupsrisopa the founder and CEO of local crypto exchange Bitkub urged policymakers to approve the rollout of TAT Coin:

“Private sectors are ready to provide digital infrastructure, but we’re just waiting for the government to press the button by enacting laws, regulations or even policies to help facilitate digital asset markets.”

“Our national GDP could grow six times if we can strengthen this market,” he added.

According to the Bangkok Post, TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn explained that the cryptourism campaign consists of “building a new tourism ecosystem which utilizes digital technologies to allow wealthy populations, including cryptocurrency holders, to channel their money directly to tourism operators without agents or brokers.”

Related: Mastercard launches crypto-linked cards across Asia-Pacific

Supasorn said the move would greatly help local businesses recover that have been impacted by the lack of tourism capital flowing into the country due to the global pandemic. Al Jazeera reported this week that Thailand saw a total of 106,117 tourists in the first 10 months of 2021, which is a tiny fraction of the 40 million yearly average pre-pandemic.

Despite the private sector appearing ready to support this campaign, Supasorn warned that there is still a lot of work to do within the government to prepare for the rollout of such an ambitious digital currency-focused initiative.

“Due to the TAT’s status as a state enterprise, there are a lot of regulatory issues we need to discuss with related parties before implementation. And there are also other preventive measures against cybercrimes and customer protections we need to prepare,” he said.