Thai SEC alleges Bitkub CTO committed insider trading

August 30, 2022 Coin Telegraph

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“The act of Mr. Wajanasathian is an offense of buying KUB coins by being a person who knows or possesses inside information,” said Thailand's financial regulator.

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, announced enforcement actions against the chief technology officer of crypto exchange Bitkub, who allegedly used insider information around the purchase of Bitkub Coin (KUB).

In a Tuesday announcement, the Thai SEC said it had fined Bitkub chief technology officer Samret Wajanasathian 8,530,383 baht — roughly $234,000 at the time of publication — and intended to bar him from being a director or executive officer at any crypto firm for a year. The financial regulator alleged Wajanasathian purchased roughly $61,000 worth of KUB tokens in advance of an announced deal in which Siam Commercial Bank, or SCB, said it would purchase a 51% stake in the crypto exchange. The news drove the price of KUB up by 101%.

“The act of Mr. Wajanasathian is an offense of buying KUB coins by being a person who knows or possesses inside information,” said the SEC.

ก.ล.ต. ใช้มาตรการลงโทษทางแพ่งกับผู้กระทำความผิด 1 ราย กรณีซื้อเหรียญ KUB โดยอาศัยข้อมูลภายในhttps://t.co/fiupGJKGb9
— ThaiSEC_News (@ThaiSEC_News) August 30, 2022

The Thai SEC said Wajanasathian still has to sign a memorandum of consent before the “period of prohibition from being a director or executive” at a crypto firm could take effect. The chief technology officer’s LinkedIn page showed his position at Bitkub was unchanged at the time of publication, but he did not appear on the company website.

On Thursday, the SCB announced that it had abandoned a $500-million plan to become the majority shareholder of Bitkub due to concerns about the crypto exchange “resolving various issues,” according to recommendations from the SEC. It’s unclear whether the bank was privy to the financial regulator’s impending enforcement actions against Bitkub’s chief technology officer.

Siam Commercial Bank abandons plans to purchase $500M stake in crypto exchange Bitkub

August 25, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Siam Commercial Bank abandons plans to purchase 0M stake in crypto exchange Bitkub

Banks

The bank cited concerns with Bitkub “resolving various issues,” according to recommendations from the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission without a definite timeline.

Thailand’s oldest bank has scrapped plans it first announced in November 2021 to become the majority shareholder of crypto exchange Bitkub.

In a Thursday announcement, Siam Commercial Bank’s SCB X Group said it would no longer be paying 17,850 million Baht — roughly $536 million in November and $497 million at the time of publication — to acquire a 51% stake in the Thailand-based crypto exchange. The bank cited concerns with Bitkub “resolving various issues” according to recommendations from the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission without a definite timeline.

According to the SCB, the company conducted a due diligence exercise on Bitkub following the November 2021 announcement it planned to become a majority shareholder, resulting in “many opportunities for cooperation in various areas in order to develop and improve the business operations” of the crypto exchange. However, its board of directors passed a resolution to terminate the deal on Thursday.

“SCB X Public Company Limited and SCB Securities Co., Ltd. remain committed to their strategic plans to expand into businesses relating to blockchain technology and digital assets, which will play an important role in Thailand's economy and financial industry,” said the bank.

Siam Commercial Bank CEO Arthit Nanthawittaya originally proposed the acquisition based on the growth of businesses in the digital asset space since 2019 and the expected value in the long term. At the time, the company hinted at aiming to strengthen and grow the digital asset ecosystem in Thailand.

In January, Thailand’s SEC and central bank announced regulations and usage limitations on crypto in an effort to stop the asset from being traded on unlicensed platforms. Bitkub is one of the few crypto exchanges in Thailand operating with the approval of the country’s SEC, but the restrictions reportedly caused a delay in the deal between the firm and the SCB.

Thailand’s Oldest Lender Delays Bitkub Exchange Acquisition Amid Tighter Crypto Rules

July 22, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Thai lawmakers urged to approve tourism crypto to entice digital nomads

November 26, 2021 Coin Telegraph

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The rollout of the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s TAT Coin is coming closer to fruition, and is now awaiting government approval according to local figures.

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.”

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.

Major Thai Bank SCB Acquires 51% Stake in Cryptocurrency Exchange

November 3, 2021 Bitcoin.com

Siam Commercial Bank purchases 51% stake in crypto exchange Bitkub

November 2, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Banks

CEO Arthit Nanthawittaya said the acquisition was based on the growth of businesses in the digital asset space over the last 2 years and the expected value in the long term.

Thailand’s oldest bank plans to become the majority shareholder of one the largest crypto exchanges in the country after a $536.7 million purchase.

According to a Nov. 2 announcement, Siam Commercial Bank’s SCB X Group is expected to buy a 51% stake in Thailand-based crypto exchange Bitkub for 17.85 billion baht, or roughly $536.7 million, by the second quarter of 2022. The exchange said the deal is subject to approval from the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and the country’s central bank.

Arthit Nanthawittaya, CEO of Siam Commercial Bank, said the acquisition was based on the growth of businesses in the digital asset space over the last 2 years and the expected value in the long term. The company hinted at aiming to strengthen and grow the digital asset ecosystem in Thailand.

“Bitkub has reached the point where we have become an important structure in Thailand's future economy,” said Bitkub founder and CEO Jirayut Srupsrisopa. “Bitkub is no longer just a startup. It is becoming necessary infrastructure for the financial industry 3.0 in Thailand.”

Bitkub is one of the few crypto exchanges in Thailand operating with the approval of the country’s SEC. After releasing revised crypto regulations in November, the financial regulator ordered the exchange to suspend services and fix issues regarding outages during periods of high demand. According to data from CoinMarketCap, the exchange had more than $274 million in trading volume in the last 24 hours.

Regulators in Thailand have issued a number of guidelines for individual crypto traders and businesses. In June, SEC officials issued a notice that Thai exchanges were banned from handling meme-based tokens, fan-based tokens, nonfungible tokens, and exchange-issued tokens. The regulatory body also proposed a set of guidelines in August related to the custody of investors' cryptocurrency holdings held by digital asset business operators.

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