Thailand’s second-largest bank, Kasikorn Bank, widely known as K-Bank, has acquired a 97% stake in the parent company of the established Satang crypto exchange.
This strategic acquisition comes as K-Bank intensifies its efforts in the cryptocurrency sector, aiming to offer a comprehensive range of crypto services that comply with Thailand’s regulatory framework.
K-Bank Acquires Majority Stake for $102 Million
The deal, valued at 3.705 billion Thai baht (approximately $102.8 million), was executed through a newly established K-Bank subsidiary known as Unita Capital, Thailand Posts reported.
Unita Capital holds a specific mandate to invest in digital assets companies, aligning with K-Bank’s commitment to expanding its presence in the digital asset and cryptocurrency market.
Once the transaction concludes, Satang will undergo a rebranding process, emerging as Orbix.
This transformation signifies a broader shift in K-Bank’s digital strategy, as Orbix will encompass three additional subsidiaries: Orbix Custodian, Orbix Invest (a digital asset fund manager), and Orbix Technology, a blockchain technology developer.
Thai Bank Launched $100 Million Fund Dedicated to Web3 Investments
Bank’s venture into the crypto sector comes on the heels of the bank’s recent launch of a $100 million fund dedicated to investments in web3, fintech, and artificial intelligence.
Notably, K-Bank’s rival, Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), has also been actively pursuing opportunities in the web3 and cryptocurrency domains, indicating the growing importance of these areas in the Thai financial landscape.
Udomsak Rakwongwan, a professor at Kasetsart University and co-founder of FWX.finance, a company in which K-Bank has invested, expressed that K-Bank has obtained a crypto exchange license and is actively pursuing additional licenses for crypto-related activities in Thailand.
Rakwongwan highlighted the distinctive nature of the Thai market, which enjoys substantial institutional support and presents a unique set of opportunities in the crypto and digital asset sphere.
Earlier, Thailand’s energy giant, Gulf, joined forces with Binance through its Gulf Innova fund to establish a regulated, local version of the exchange in the Thai market.
In a statement to local media, K-Bank revealed its ambition to capture a 20% share of the crypto market in Thailand by 2024.
