Bitkub, Thailand’s Premier Crypto Exchange, Targets Initial Public Offering by 2025

The company behind Bitkub is engaging financial consultants to oversee their prospective initial public offering (IPO). The CEO believes that an IPO would be advantageous in securing fresh investments and solidifying Bitkub’s position in the market.

Bitkub reduced its workforce by 6% throughout 2022 and 2023 but is now actively recruiting, aiming to bolster its workforce to 1,000 people by 2025, which would effectively double its current staff strength.

The possibility of an IPO was teased in a shareholder communication in 2023, with early speculation of a potential listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The CEO pointed to Hong Kong’s strategic location, robust legal framework, and highly liquid financial market as preferable to New York for the Asian context, while noting that New York remains attractive for Western enterprises seeking to go public.

Headquartered in Bangkok, Bitkub holds dominance in Thailand’s cryptocurrency sector, claiming a significant 77% market share as of December 2023, with its daily trading activity approximating $30 million.

As Bitkub moves toward an IPO, the local crypto landscape in Thailand is experiencing varied developments, from the market entry of Upbit in 2021 to regulatory challenges leading to the suspension of Zipmex’s activities in November 2023.

An IPO pursuit follows shortly after regulatory actions targeted Bitkub for alleged incorrect reporting and artificial trade volume creation through wash trading. Regulators accused the exchange of placing matching orders to simulate trading interests, a practice that is typically prohibited.

Bitkub’s growth prospects were affected when Siam Commercial Bank withdrew from a deal to purchase a majority 51% stake in the exchange for an estimated 18 billion baht ($500 million). This bid, launched in November 2011, would have valued the exchange at over $1.0 billion and crowned it as a unicorn in a country not known for such startup valuations.