The Stock Exchange of Thailand is looking forward to establishing a licensed digital asset exchange as per the news shared by The Bangkok Post on Jan 17.
Pattera Dilokrungthirapop, who is the Chairwoman of the Association of Securities Companies and Vice Chairwoman of the SET's board of directors mentioned that the national stock exchange plans to release digital asset operating license from the country's Ministry of Finance this year. The latest move is being made in order to attract the increasing investor demand for cryptos.
As per the strategy, SET's member securities companies will be able to become brokers and dealers for trading on the latest crypto exchange.
Being a part of the securities industry, Dilokrungthitrapop said that there are a lot of security companies which are enthusiastic about broker and dealer activity with cryptocurrencies as a class, however, they have not especially planned to enter into crypto markets.
Dilokrungthirapop said:
"We [securities firms] are not in a hurry to enter the digital asset trade, as some companies are still managing their core businesses, while cryptocurrencies are just one of the [digital] asset classes where brokers can adapt their trading platforms to serve digital trading."
"Securities firms are currently waiting for the SET to apply for a license. For us, digital assets are expected to grow in the future as investors gain more understanding of this asset class."
Jiyarat Srupsriopa, who is the chief executive of the Thai digital asset exchange Bitkub, said that a digital asset exchange from SET will have a benefit of utilizing crypto exchange's already existing trust and capital. The exchange has a lot of interest in collaborating with SET for its crypto venture.
Lately, the highly-anticipated cryptocurrency platform Bakkt established by the operator of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) step into an agreement to purchase certain assets in futures commission merchant Rosenthal Collins Group (RCG).
In May 2018, SET released a crowdfunding marketplace formed on the blockchain technology. The service, named LiVE, uses blockchain to allow peer-to-peer trading in an attempt to help startups to get new capital from investors, along with those drawn from the venture capital and institutional investor worlds.
Before a week, the finance ministry provided crypto asset business licenses to four firms which include Bitcoin Exchange, Bitkub Online, Satang Corporation (Satang Pro), and Coins TH Co. Apart from this, two other companies, Cash2coin and Southeast Asia Digital Exchange (SEADEX), were not allowed the license, however, a third party application from Coin Asset is still under consideration.