According to a press release, Siam Commercial Bank announced Thursday that it is abandoning its $500 million deal to acquire Thailand’s crypto exchange Bitkub. SCB X, the parent company of Siam Commercial Bank, the fourth-largest bank in the kingdom, would have purchased 51% of Bitkub shares for 17.8 billion baht ($496 million). Bitkub, now Thailand’s second unicorn, was valued at 35 billion baht ($1 billion) due to the purchase. SCB’s Deal To Acquire Bitkub Announced In November The deal gets announced in November, and the state of the cryptocurrency markets has gotten worse. The market value of all cryptocurrencies rose to $3 trillion that month, but it fell by $2 trillion by June. On Thursday, SCB terminated the agreement and informed the Stock Exchange of Thailand, citing regulatory action Bitkub had just experienced. In the release, SCB stressed that it is still committed to implementing the strategic plan to enter the blockchain technology and digital asset sector. In 2021, Bitkub revealed a net gain of 5 billion baht. According to CoinMarketCap, its 24-hour turnover was $253 million in November but is now only $40.4 million. After service interruptions brought on by the exchange’s rapidly expanding transaction volume, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered the exchange to upgrade its technical infrastructure. Bitkub was penalized in May for failing to comply with the SEC’s requirements for listing digital ...
