As the world continues to discuss whether cryptos are the right way ahead, major business institutions are starting to bet their money on it. Just recently, A deal between Siam Commercial Bank and Bitkub took place.
Bitkub is now Thailand’s newest startup to get an estimation of more than 1 billion baht after selling the bulk of its shares to the nation’s biggest bank-SCB. Bitkub’s coin value, on the other hand, rose three times to about 35 billion baht right after the deal’s announcement.
In a significant effort to gain cryptocurrencies, Siam Commercial Bank, which is the largest shareholder in the nation, will get 51% of Bitkub for 17.85 billion baht, equal to $535 million. This agreement is now waiting for administrative approval, expecting its completion by the first quarter of 2022.
The exchange’s coins rose by 200%, hitting a record of $2.85. According to the pricing from CoinGecko, shares of Siam Commercial Bank rose to as much as 3.5%.
Furthermore, the demand for crypto and financial goods is growing. Young investors are now looking for more striking returns from their savings, even though the economy is slow, interest is low, and an economic slowdown.
SCB is growing into virtual assets. This is coming when policymakers and regulators are warning investors about the risky move to invest in crypto.
What Necessitates This Move by Siam Commercial Bank?
According to the bank’s CEO, Bitkub is helping the bank create new value that will grow in a long while in the business world. It will also help the SCB employ special user needs, entering a new ground of competition rising swiftly in the next few years to come.
In 2020, Thailand saw a turnover of 18 billion baht at local crypto exchanges. However, it has since fallen. According to the Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission, the turnover has fallen to an average of about 100 billion baht between August and October 2021.
In 2018, when Bitkub was starting, it made a profit of about 1.53 billion baht in the first nine months, recording revenue of 3.28 billion baht. 1.03 trillion baht profit was made between January and September 2021.
This represents 92% of the total returns among all crypto exchange operators licensed in Thailand. Currently, Bitkub ranks 79th among more than 300 exchanges in the world.
Other Crypto Deals Made
Other companies are coming together with the cryptocurrency world.
New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) gets $300 million worth of shares from British bitcoin startup Bottlepay. This will allow NYDIG to unite with Bottlepay on its platform.
Recently, MasterCard’s announcement shot up saying that they are buying the shares of CipherTrace. This is a cryptocurrency exchange overseeing more than 900 cryptos. With this, MasterCard is expanding its abilities into the field of virtual assets, particularly crypto.
Banking institutions are smoothly getting into the world of cryptocurrencies. Now that crypto is proving its worth, everyone wants a part of the action. Regulatory approvals are still now all that is left for crypto to reach mainstream adoption globally.