Nikolas Sargeant
HashKey Capital, one of the largest and most prominent crypto funds in Asia, released its annual report spotlighting Thailand's remarkable growth in the global crypto economy.
According to its report, Thailand is becoming an important country in the global crypto economy. The report also shows Thailand's pivotal role in Asia's crypto landscape, driven by high adoption rates, a surging digital asset trading volume, favorable regulations, and a thriving ecosystem of digital services.
According to the Chainalysis Crypto Adoption Index, Thailand ranks tenth globally, demonstrating significant crypto ownership and activity across centralized exchanges, P2P trading, and DeFi protocols.
Furthermore, Thai users continue to move towards trading digital users. Data obtained from CoinGecko showed that leading Thai exchanges, including Bitkub, Bitazza, and Orbix, recorded a total trading volume of $116,436,471,138.81 from January to October 2023, representing 4.27% of the country’s total population.
The figures reveal a rapid growth in crypto adoption in Thailand, outpacing traditional stock exchange account holders.
The rising interest in crypto is one of the primary reasons behind the growth of Thailand’s vibrant digital asset ecosystem. While exchanges like Bitkub and Orbix currently dominate, new entrants such as SCB are introducing innovations, with the launch of the InnovestX investment app.
Furthermore, Gulf's partnership with Binance for digital asset licenses signifies the potential expansion of the competitive landscape.
In addition to this, SCB and another of the country’s major banks Kasikornbank, have launched ICO portals that enable their customers to invest in promising Thai digital asset startups.
The two banks, via their subsidiaries, SCB10x and KASIKORN X, are investing in crypto projects. In addition to that, crypto advisory firms are starting to spring up in Thailand.
Research firm Cryptomind, a prominent startup in HashKey’s portfolio, became the first company to secure a license to offer digital asset advisory services earlier this year.
The HashKey report also looked at the growing Web3 economy in Thailand, with high-profile projects including the blockchain gaming guild GuildFi, plus 3Landers and LonelyPop.
The crypto economy in Thailand is recording massive growth thanks to the government's swift establishment of a crypto-friendly regulatory climate. Thailand's regulatory strategy is defined by the Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses, B.E. 2561. The regulation mandates financial institutions to report digital asset investments and activities, ensuring transparency and regulatory adherence.
The Thai SEC, the country’s apex financial regulator, clearly defines and regulates a number of assets and activities, including digital coins and tokens; ICO issuers and portals; exchange and brokerage platforms; plus dealers, fund managers and advisors.
This implies that the SEC has created seven different licenses related to these assets and activities.
Sanjay Popli, Co-Founder and CEO of Cryptomind, stated that,
“I’m excited by the rapid expansion of Thailand’s Web3 sector. With over 3 million overall crypto users and 600% growth in the market in recent years, the dynamism in our DeFi and NFT sectors is clearly evident. Thailand is increasingly becoming a hotspot for digital nomads, drawn by our crypto-friendly policies, affordable living costs, vibrant food and beverage culture and diverse cultural landscape.”
Thanaarmates Arriyavat, Senior Venture Director of KASIKORN X, also commented that,
“In 2023, more enterprises entered the digital asset market in Thailand, [while the] active development of related regulations, more technology robustness and vibrant communities point to a positive outlook for meaningful innovations in the industry that could benefit a larger population.”
HashKey Capital is a digital asset and blockchain leader helping institutions, founders and talents advance the blockchain industries.
As one of the largest crypto funds and the earliest institutional investor in Ethereum, HashKey Capital has managed over US$1 billion in client assets since its inception, with over 500 investments in infrastructure, tools, and applications.
