Bithumb Goes To Japan And Thailand

It was reported by local media on Friday that Bithumb, one of the largest exchange in South Korea is working on obtaining regulatory approval from the SEC (Thai Securities and Exchange Commission). Being the second largest exchange in South Korea, Bithumb has a daily volume of about $358 million. It comes after the Kakao-backed Upbit with a $52 daily volume. (all these statistics were taken at the time of writing).

Bithumb Company Limited is the already-existing Thailand branch, with registered capital of 3 million baht (approximately US$90,000).  The company explained the reason behind its expansion into the Thai market, and was quoted thus: “Thailand is active in e-commerce and the fintech industry, and the government is showing great interest in digital currency as it promotes smart city business.”

Thailand’s regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs) has just been finalized. The publication added that Bithumb has Bithumb has been building its Thai website. There was no statement on whether the company will start service in Thailand at the end of the month of October.

Bithumb has plans of opening an exchange in Japan in February next year. The company is seeking approval from the FSA. The exchange revealed that “it plans to set up an exchange that supports the largest number of coins in Japan

Bithumb announced earlier this year that it is looking for partners for its global expansion. The exchange will be working hand in hand with overseas partners so they can launch faster and more efficient platforms for traders in the world.

According to the announcement, the exchange detailed that projects which Bithumb will collaborate with potential partners include “cash (deposit/remittance/debit) management processing, the operation of an exchange platform, [and] marketing & promotion and customer service.”

“Bithumb is preparing exchange platforms for countries under the global expansion plan and we are looking for great and potential partners (corporation, entity or group) worldwide…The exchange platforms under final development stages are USD / JYP / EUR / CNY / INR / GBP / AUD / CAD / PHP / RUB and [there] will be more soon when there are any service demands.”