Thailand’s oldest bank is unable to acquire the country’s largest local cryptocurrency exchange due to stringent crypto regulations.
As reported by Cointelegraph in November 2021, SCB X Group, a subsidiary of Siam Commercial Bank , was set toby the second quarter of 2022 as part of a plan to become a regional fintech. Now things seem to have taken a twist, as the bank has indefinitely postponed its plans to acquire the popular exchange.
As crypto trading continues to be hampered by regulation, SCB X has indefinitely decided not to move forward with a $487 million offer for a 51% stake in Bitkub, Thailand’s major cryptocurrency exchange platform.to a report by Nikkei Asia on Thursday, the parent company of SCB, SCB X, informed the Stock Exchange of Thailand that the acquisition is “still undergoing due diligence.” A senior official of SCB X told the outlet that the team doesn't know when the deal will be sealed.
The news of the reschedule was revealed earlier this month when SCB X submitted a letter to SET outlining the current situation. In a statement, SCB X CEO Arthid Nanthawithaya said: “Presently, the matter is in the process of due diligence and discussion with the regulatory bodies. Therefore, the completion period of the transaction is now extended.”
Isn't that a good thing? The biggest TradFi institution was about to take over a crypto exchange (which is also centralized) I get the importance of institutional DeFi, but this is NOT how it is done...