Thailand's oldest bank buys 51% stake in Bitkub bitcoin exchange
Thailand's oldest and third largest bank Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) has invested about THB17.85 billion (~$536 million) in cryptocurrency exchange Bitkub through a 51 percent stake purchase.
The deal is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022, subject to regulatory approval.
SCB CEO Artit Nanthavittaya stressed that the digital asset-related business has grown rapidly over the past two years, becoming one of the pillars of the financial world of the future.
According to him, the acquisition will help the bank enter a new competitive field that will take shape in the next three to five years.
Bitkub founder and CEO Jirajut Suprisosofa said the exchange had outgrown the startup level and it was time to go global.
We need a strong partner to help us achieve faster and more sustainable growth. That is why we are partnering with SCB, he stressed.
As a reminder, SCB is a partner of fintech company Ripple. The bank uses the RippleNet payment network for money transfers between South Korea and Thailand in collaboration with GME Remittance.
In February, SCB created a $50 million fund to invest in start-ups targeting "the next generation of financial services and digital systems".