Thai billionaire seeks licence to run digital asset exchange

Thailand’s second richest man, who made his money in the power generation industry, is looking to increase his company’s investments into blockchain ecosystems.

Sarath Ratanavadi, CEO of Gulf Energy Development Pcl, is looking to diversify his company’s earnings sources by setting up a digital asset exchange in partnership with Binance Holdings Ltd, which is the largest crypto exchange globally by trading volume.

Crypto downturn

The news comes amid an extremely deep bear market for crypto which has seen bitcoin lose up to 75% of its value so far, and the vast majority of the other cryptocurrencies lose more than 90%.

In addition, the regulatory landscape is still totally uncertain, as the Securities and Exchange Commission takes on many new staff ready for what could be a massive purge of the entire cryptocurrency sector.

According to a Bloomberg article, the Thailand crypto sector is suffering its own heavy downturn. Crypto-related trading accounts in the country reduced to 260,000 in July from a peak of almost 700,000 in December, while the trading turnover for July of cryptocurrencies in Thailand’s licenced exchanges shrank to 54 billion bhat ($1.5 billion), a figure not seen since January 2021.

Billionaire unperturbed

Nevertheless, Sarath is unperturbed and is ready to double down in the crypto sector. In an interview with Bloomberg on Wednesday, the billionaire said:

“Digital assets and blockchain technology platforms will be the key drivers for the company’s strongest returns, and our aim is to become the country’s market leader. Recent issues involve individual cases, with the overall market still being sound and having high potential.”

Sarath is not only keen on Blockchain and Crypto infrastructure. His Gulf Energy company has also increased its investments into wind and solar energy projects, together with purchasing a large stake in the controlling company of Thailand’s biggest wireless-services and satellite company.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.