Thailand's Siam Commercial Bank has acquired a 51% controlling interest in digital asset exchange Bitkub for $537 million.
The acqusition has been engineeered by SCBX, set up last month as a "mothership company" designed to enable the bank to become a "regional financial technology conglomerate" by 2025, with investments in areas such as blockchain, digital assets and fintech.
Under the deal, SCB Securities will become Bitkub’s major shareholder and will be responsible for engaging closely with the company as a business partner in building a business and digital asset ecosystem and exchange.
SCBx CEO and chairman Arthid Nanthawithaya says: “SCBx Group's investment in Bitkub, well-known as Thailand’s reliable digital asset trading platform with a record of outstanding growth, will help the SCBx Group create new growth value in the long term amid a new financial world. The move is in line with SCBx Group's strategy to upgrade to a financial technology group, meeting new consumer needs and entering a new competitive arena that will emerge very quickly in the next three to five years.”