Binance to Set Up Thai Crypto Exchange with Local Partnership

Binance is in the final stages of forming a joint venture with Thailand-based Gulf Energy Development Plc, a power producer, as the two want to establish a local crypto trading platform in the country, Reuters reported on Friday.

Both the companies are now deciding on the business model and other agreements like the shareholding capacity of the joint venture.

“Once we conclude talks with Binance on the business model and shareholder agreements, a JV will be formed, which will apply for the license with regulators,” Yupapin Wangviwat, Gulf’s Chief Financial Officer, told the publication in an interview.

Crypto exchanges in Thailand are tightly regulated. Now, only a few major regulated players are now operating in the local market as many platforms have shuttered over the years. Binance and its local partners are now seeking a proper trading license for their joint venture, which they are expecting to obtain in the next six months.

Once the joint venture gains approval, it will unveil its elaborated services and features.

Binance's Local Approach

Interestingly, Binance was flagged by Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last year and the company faced criminal charges for illegally offering services in the country without having any local authorization.

Though that pushed Binance to exit from the Thai market, the global giant has now found another route to tap the retail Thai crypto investors.

Binance’s strategy of partnering with a local mammoth to enter the market is not new. Last December, reports surfaced that the crypto exchange is in talks with two of Indonesia’s largest companies, PT Bank Central Asia and PT Telkom, to form a similar joint venture and establish a locally operated digital asset trading platform.

Meanwhile, Gulf Energy is betting big on digital services. The company increased its stake in the country’s largest telecom operator holding company, InTouch recently to 42 percent in a 48 billion baht deal. Furthermore, it established a separate joint venture with the Thai telecom operator and Singapore Telecommunications for building a data center.