KBank $103M acquisition for crypto venture

KasikornBank (KBank) of Thailand has announced its acquisition of a 97% stake in Satang, a crypto exchange player in the Thai crypto market established in 2017.

• Acquisition Details: The deal, valued at 3.705 billion Thai baht ($102.8M), was executed through K-Bank's new subsidiary, Unita Capital, specifically created to invest in digital asset firms.

• Rebranding: Upon completion of the deal, Satang will rebrand itself as Orbix, which will comprise three additional subsidiaries: Orbix Custodian, Orbix Invest (a digital asset fund manager), and Orbix Technology (a blockchain technology developer).

• Acquisition Catalyst: This move follows K-Bank’s recent launch of a $100M fund targeting web3, fintech, and AI sectors.

• K-Bank Crypto Venture: K-Bank aims to offer a comprehensive range of crypto services legally available in Thailand, according to Udomsak Rakwongwan, a professor at Kasetsart University and co-founder of FWX.finance, a K-Bank investee. K-Bank has also recently secured a crypto exchange license and is aggressively pursuing other relevant licenses.

• Thai Crypto Status: The Thai market is unique due to high institutional support, with Gulf, a Thai energy giant, undertaking a joint venture with Binance via its Gulf Innova fund to introduce a regulated, local version of the crypto exchange.

The acquisition indicates an increasingly competitive landscape for crypto businesses in Thailand, with major players dominating the field, which may pose challenges for smaller entities.

K-Bank has set its sights on capturing 20% of the Thai crypto market share by 2024, as per a statement released to local media.