As per released information by the Bangkok Post in the last week, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) is planning to announce the release of a licensed digital asset exchange in the near future. Currently, Thailand has three licensed crypto exchanges. Along with the launch of a new exchange, the companies that are members of the exchange will also follow suit and apply for cryptocurrency broker-dealer licenses with the country’s regulator.
The Chairwoman of the Association of Securities Companies and Vice Chairwoman of the SET’s board of directors, Pattera Dilokrungthirapop, declared that in order to appeal the increasing demand for the cryptocurrencies, the national stock exchange is planning to issue a license for operating the digital assets this year. The licenses shall be issued from the country’s Ministry of Finance. She further stated that basis this new plan, SET’s members would also be allowed to become brokers and dealers to trade on the latest crypto exchange.
Dilokrungthitrapop stated that several security companies are present who are quite passionate to work as a broker and dealer in the cryptocurrency field. But they have not yet worked towards crystalizing their passion to enter the crypto markets.
She added: “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.”
The chief executive of Bitkub – A Thai digital asset exchange, Jiyarat Srupsriopa, sounded quite positive about the SET’s new venture and stated 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.” He believed that digital asset exchanges which are licensed would have a better understanding of the digital asset trade and the investor group in such a field.
Earlier in May 2018, SET had announced a launch of a crowdsourcing marketplace that was based on the blockchain technology. The marketplace was named as ‘LiVE’ assists the startups to obtain investment from new investors by allowing peer-to-peer trading using the blockchain technology.
