Binance’s Joint Venture with Gulf Energy
Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has granted its first license in Southeast Asia to Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. The approval paves the way for a joint venture between Binance and Gulf Energy Development, a prominent Thai power producer, to establish a digital asset exchange and brokerage.
It will be a 51-49 partnership between Gulf Innova and Binance that will launch in the fourth quarter of 2023. Gulf Innova is the fintech subsidiary of Gulf Energy, which invested $20 million for a 0.4% stake in Binance’s U.S. operation.
Prior to this development, local exchange Bitkub held a dominant 75.4% market share after the second-largest exchange, Zipmex, faced a liquidity crisis triggered by the Terra Luna crash in 2022.
Binance’s commitment to compliance and adherence to local regulations was highlighted by Somchai Teng, a representative of the joint venture. Teng assured Thai users that they can expect a trusted and regulated service prioritizing user security. This “compliance first” approach in Thailand marks a departure from Binance’s previous strategies, which had drawn warnings from financial authorities in the U.S., U.K., Japan, and Singapore. To establish a physical presence, Binance set up a local office in Thailand under Gulf’s guidance in 2022.
Notably, Binance has also made significant moves in other regions. The acquisition of Japan’s Sakura Exchange in December gave the company a licensed operation in another G7 economy, following previous successes in France and select U.S. states. Additionally, Binance entered a joint venture with the conglomerate Royal Group in Cambodia to explore Web3 projects and support the development of a legal framework for digital asset regulation in the country.
More details about the upcoming digital asset business will be unveiled closer to the launch date in the fourth quarter of 2023.
What is Binance:
Binance is the world’s leading blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider with a financial product suite that includes the largest digital asset exchange by volume. Trusted by millions worldwide, the Binance platform is dedicated to increasing the freedom of money for users and features an unmatched portfolio of crypto products and offerings, including trading and finance, education, data and research, social good, investment and incubation, decentralization and infrastructure solutions, and more.
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