People around the world are warming up to cryptocurrencies and the exchanges are trying to tap into this growing interest. Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges is one of them as it tries to make an entry into Thailand.
In January, Binance formed a joint venture with Gulf Energy Development run by billionaire Sarath Ratnavadi. It will be applying for a license to operate a digital asset exchange platform in Thailand. Additionally, Gulf Energy has agreed to invest in Binance’s Coin BNB, which is used to access utilities across blockchain and the preferred stock of Binance US.
In its latest filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, Gulf Energy stated,
“The company believes that this multi-level cooperation with Binance, which is the global leader in blockchain infrastructure technology, is aligned with the company’s target to be the leader in digital infrastructure while providing further opportunities for the company to expand into other digital asset-related initiatives in the future”
Meanwhile, the proceeds from the seed funding received by Gulf Energy Development will be used by Binance US “to expand headcount, launch ROI-based marketing efforts, expand its product portfolio and make potential future acquisitions before its planned initial public offering [IPO] in 2-3 years.”
Binance was aggressively trying to become the largest cryptocurrency exchange as cryptocurrencies penetrate the wider markets. However, regulatory concerns are still looming.
The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission and the central bank were not fond of crypto payments and in March announced a ban on them. Binance has already experienced difficulties with the SEC. The SEC had filed a criminal complaint against Binance in July 2021 for operating without a license. However, the exchange at the time had noted that it was not actively soliciting users in Thailand.
Binance has been able to handle regulatory scrutiny across many nations and has expanded to the Middle East lately. It secured separate licenses across Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, and Dubai. It was no surprise that the crypto exchange giant now wants to please the regulators in Thailand and expand its reach in Southeast Asia. The country ranked seventh globally in terms of on-chain value received as a crypto adoption metric by Statista.
With cryptocurrency adoption on the rise and Binance making its moves, the authorities would have to more attention to regulating the field rather than putting an outright ban.