HashKey Capital, a renowned Asian crypto fund, published its annual report in Singapore on December 7, 2023, showcasing Thailand’s outstanding growth in the global crypto industry.
The report highlights Thailand’s prominent role in Asia’s crypto scene, which has been fueled by widespread adoption, a significant increase in digital asset trading volume, favorable regulations, and a thriving ecosystem of digital firms.
HashKey Capital reports Thailand becoming a crypto hub
The most recent results from a report by HashKey highlight Thailand’s considerable fervor towards cryptocurrencies. Thailand is positioned tenth on the Chainalysis Crypto Adoption Index, which signifies substantial crypto ownership and engagement on decentralized platforms, peer-to-peer exchanges, and DeFi protocols.
This enthusiasm is additionally supported by the fact that Thailand received 648,000 monthly visits to CoinMarketCap, which accounts for 0.94% of all visits worldwide.
Moreover, there is a notable propensity among Thai consumers to engage in the trading of digital assets. From January to October 2023, prominent Thai exchanges, including Bitkub, Bitazza, and Orbix, recorded a total trading volume of $116,436,471,138.81, according to data from CoinGecko.
The fact that these exchanges have more than 2.94 million individual account holders, which accounts for 4.27% of the nation’s populace, indicates that crypto adoption is accelerating at an unprecedented rate, surpassing that of conventional stock exchange account holders.
Thailand’s Crypto Playground
The high global interest in crypto markets is critical for Thailand’s digital asset ecosystem to thrive. Although exchanges like Bitkub and Orbix now dominate the industry, entrants such as SCB are providing innovations, as evidenced by the launch of the InnovestX investment app.
In addition, Gulf’s collaboration with Binance for digital asset licenses indicates future expansion in the competitive landscape.
SCB and another big Thai bank, Kasikornbank, have both developed ICO portals, allowing consumers to participate in promising Thai digital asset firms. Through their subsidiaries, SCB10x and KASIKORN X, these two banks are also venturing into venture finance.
Crypto advising firms are also emerging, with Cryptomind, a major startup in HashKey’s portfolio, obtaining the first license to provide digital asset advisory services this year.
Furthermore, the HashKey analysis highlights the potential of Thailand’s emerging Web3 economy, highlighting notable ventures such as the blockchain gaming guild GuildFi, 3Landers, and LonelyPop.
Thai’s friendly government
The government’s swift development of a crypto-friendly regulatory framework is critical to Thailand’s thriving crypto environment. Thailand’s regulatory framework, like that of other countries such as Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, is described in the Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses, B.E. 2561.
This order requires financial institutions to record their digital asset investments and activities, highlighting the importance of transparency and regulatory compliance.
The Thai Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) regulates and supervises a wide range of assets and activities, including digital currencies and tokens, ICO issuers and portals, exchange and brokerage platforms, dealers, fund managers, and consultants. As a result, it has created seven unique licenses for these assets and operations.
Sanjay Popli, Co-Founder and CEO of Cryptomind, expresses his excitement about recent legislative advancements in Thailand:
I’m excited by the rapid expansion of Thailand’s Web3 sector. With over 3 million overall crypto users and 600% growth in the market in recent years, the dynamism in our DeFi and NFT sectors is clearly evident.
Thailand is increasingly becoming a hotspot for digital nomads, drawn by our crypto-friendly policies, affordable living costs, vibrant food and beverage culture and diverse cultural landscape.
Sanjay Popli
Thailand is positioned as a hub for substantial crypto innovations due to the increased acceptance of Web3 and blockchain technology by traditional institutions, as well as a balanced regulatory framework. Arriyavat Thanaarmates, Senior Venture Director of KASIKORN X, concurs with Popli:
In 2023, more enterprises entered the digital asset market in Thailand, [while the] active development of related regulations, more technology robustness and vibrant communities point to a positive outlook for meaningful innovations in the industry that could benefit a larger population.
Thanaarmates Arriyavat
HashKey Capital’s thorough report highlights Thailand’s expanding importance in the global crypto economy and offers a picture of a country embracing innovation, developing a crypto-friendly environment, and positioning itself as a hub for important breakthroughs in the blockchain domain.
