Upbit establishes Thailand presence as Bitkub faces technical hurdles

TL;DR Breakdown:

• Upbit has launched a new exchange for the Thailand market.
• The new exchange comes as the market leader, Bitkub, faces technical difficulties.

A leading cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, Upbit, has expanded its presence in Asia following the launch of a crypto trading unit in Thailand. This is coming a few days after the country’s leading exchange, Bitkub, temporarily wound-down operations to upgrade its technical capacities at the request of Thai regulators. Following Upbit prominence in the global crypto industry, the new exchange is likely to tap Bitkub’s market share. 

Upbit launches Thailand exchange

As the Bangkok Post reported on Friday, Upbit launched the Thailand exchange on Wednesday. It’s a joint-venture that involves a group of billionaires in the country. The exchange will focus on the Thai market, allowing residents to easily trade cryptocurrencies. The regulator recently granted the license for the new exchange after pending for several months.

“It’s a coincidence we received permission from the Securities and Exchange Commission at this time,” Preecha Praipattarakul, one of the Upbit Thailand officials, said.

Upbit Thailand has a strong financial backing as it involves billionaires in the country. As reported, about $2.6 million (80 million baht) capital was raised for the new exchange. Following the strong financial base, the exchange officials mentioned they would insure investor assets’ to boost their confidence in case of losses. 

There could be a struggle for market dominance, as the new exchange intends to debut with attractive features that include zero percent trading commission fees.

Bitkub faces technical difficulties

Bitkub is the leading exchange in Thailand, as it accounts for more than 90 percent of crypto transactions in the country. However, the exchanges suffered several downtimes that affected the users’ trades during the recent uptick in the cryptocurrency market. At the request of the country’s regulators, Bitkub was asked to wind-down operations to fix the technical issues.