Thai Bank Takes a Leap into Digital Assets with Acquisition of Local Crypto Exchange
Thailand's banking landscape witnessed a significant transformation as Kasikornbank, widely recognized as KBank, recently ventured into the digital assets arena by acquiring a local cryptocurrency exchange.
In a recent disclosure to the Thai Stock Exchange, KBank revealed its acquisition of a commanding 97% stake in Satang Corporation Co. Ltd. The purchased entity, Satang Corporation, is anticipated to undergo a rebranding and operate under the new name Orbix Trade Co. Ltd.
This acquisition maneuver was orchestrated through Unita Capital, a wholly-owned subsidiary of KBank with a considerable registered capital amounting to 3.7 billion Baht (equivalent to $102.8 million), as detailed in the official filing.
This groundbreaking step taken by KBank is a pivotal aspect of its overarching Web3 initiatives. The bank recently unveiled its plans to establish the KXVC, a substantial $100 million fund designated for investments in the burgeoning Web3 and artificial intelligence sectors.
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Concurrently, Thailand is rigorously tightening its regulatory framework concerning cryptocurrency trading, a move primarily aimed at fortifying tax revenues.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s proposal to distribute 10,000 Baht in digital currencies to all Thai citizens has encountered a setback, with the distribution now anticipated to take place later in the first quarter of 2024.
Alexander Stefanov
Reporter at CoinsPress
Alex is Editor-in-Chief of Coinspress and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, with nearly a decade of experience covering financial markets - crypto first, then everything else. It started in 2016 with Bitcoin. Like most people at the time, he didn't fully understand it - so he kept digging. Blockchain, tokenomics, the projects, the cycles. That curiosity never stopped, and eventually pulled him into traditional markets too: equities, commodities, macro. Not because he left crypto behind, but because you can't properly understand one without the other. What drives him is straightforward: he wants to know why something is happening, not just that it's happening. Most market coverage stops at the headline - price up, price down, here's a chart. Alex finds that kind of reporting actively unhelpful. If you walk away from an article without understanding the mechanism behind the move, what did you actually learn? He holds a degree in Tourism from New Bulgarian University - not the most obvious path into financial markets, but markets have a way of pulling in people who are simply too curious to stay out. He has authored over 200 in-depth analyses and more than 10,000 articles across crypto and traditional finance. He still thinks every day in markets teaches him something new. That's probably why he hasn't stopped.
